Harry Potter: Magical Avenger
by j1982
Summary: Portraits of the Founders help Harry using a ritual to send him on a one way trip to a different reality. However the Creator had other somewhere else in mind so he was sent to a different Earth. Super Harry. Rich Harry. No Slash. H/Multi.
1. Long and Boring Prologue

An old but youthful looking man sat in the study of his manor. Yes, he is both very old but still youthful looking. He is a wizard that got the dubious gift of immortality. The name of the wizard is Harry Potter.

The first seventeen years of his life was not something you would wish on anyone. He was orphaned as a one year old baby by a powerful evil wizard named Voldemort. It turns out that there was a prophecy about the two of them but Harry only learned of this when he was fifteen years old. The evil wizard was very powerful that few escaped with their lives once he wanted to kill you. Voldemort wanted to rule the wizarding world and it seemed that he was on the verge of doing so. When he came to kill Harry that All Hallow's Eve, the killing curse, which all previous records state was not survivable, was reflected back to Voldemort who supposedly died. Harry became the Boy Who Lived who had a lightning bolt scar on his forehead, the only thing he got from the killing curse.

Harry was placed with his magic hating relatives to be raised. The said relatives proceeded to abuse Harry physically, mentally and emotionally. He was not told his real name until he was about to start school, instead he was called freak and boy. He was treated as an indentured servant while being punished for doing better than his cousin in school.

The Chief Warlock, head of the wizard's legislative and judiciary body called the Wizengamot, was responsible for placing Harry in that personal hell. His name was Albus Dumbledore and was also James and Lily Potter's, the parents of Harry, former school headmaster. He disregarded the parents' wishes in their will which was sealed. This was legal and within Dumbledore's remit as Chief Warlock. Dumbledore was not an inherently bad man but he was a man who treated others more as pawns than as people with feelings. He never checked on Harry's well-being, he only checked on his informant and magical devices to let him know that Harry was alive.

Once Harry was eleven, he got informed of his powers and the hidden magical world. He went to his parent's former school, Hogwarts, where every year he had to overcome tasks where he almost lost his life.

During the end of Harry's fourth year there, Voldemort kidnapped Harry from a school tournament to resurrect himself. This was the start of a secret war in the wizarding world between Dumbledore and his followers against Voldemort and his followers with Harry caught in the middle of all this. Harry was told of the prophecy at the end of his fifth year there. It basically said that Voldemort marked him as an equal, hence the scar, and that one cannot live while the other survived. Up until this point, Harry was just cruising through school with mediocre grades.

Harry had unknowingly acquired a house elf named Dobby who bonded himself to Harry of his own free will after Harry freed Dobby from his former master at the end of Harry's second year in Hogwarts. He told Harry of a secret room in the school called the Room of Requirement which can transform into anything he needed. He needed to learn all the things he needed in order to survive. What he got was a set of rooms dedicated to this sole purpose. It had a bedroom with its own en suite toilet and bath, a library, a training and dueling room for practicing spells and physical training complete with swords, daggers, and archery. He needed time to learn all these so the room slowed down time when he was using the room. This process is called time dilation. An hour outside the room meant a month inside. Of course while Harry was smart, he cannot learn it all from books alone. What he got as instructors were portraits of the four founders of Hogwarts, all extraordinary witches and wizards.

Godric Gryffindor was a battle mage who taught him Defense along with Transfiguration. Defense with Godric did not mean just using magic in combat. He also taught him the martial arts on how to fight using weapons like swords and also how to fight barehanded. He told Harry to ask the room for training dummies he can spar with. Godric's wife, Rowena Ravenclaw, became Harry's teacher on Arithmancy, Ancient Runes and Charms. Helga Hufflepuff taught Harry the healing arts along with Herbology and how it related to Potions. The last professor put Harry a bit on edge.

Salazar Slytherin's reputation as a dark wizard preceded him. This drew a hearty laugh from the other three founders as it was true that Slytherin favored more brutal spells in battle to discourage evil by psychologically frightening them into thinking twice before they crossed him. He also told Harry that he only advocated that magic should be used on the families of those not from a magical family in order to safeguard the secrecy of their world. This was the only point of contention between Slytherin and his wife Helga who was of the opinion that a promise to keep the secrets of magic secret from the muggle world. This was also the opinion of the other two founders. After Harry learned of this, he got along fine with Salazar and privately told his instructor that he actually agreed with him. He got tuition in Potions, Occlumency and its counterpart Legilimency along with instruction in Rituals. When Salazar learned of Harry's parseltongue skills and what happened in the Chamber of Secrets in his second year, Slytherin promised to Harry that he will also be taught how to use this talent in order to defeat that bastard of an heir who used his beloved basilisk in such a disgusting manner. He told Harry he would make it his mission to teach Harry everything to defeat the upstart who was sullying his name.

Harry spent an entire weekend inside the room aside from the few hours he spent outside for meals and sleeping in Gryffindor tower. He had almost three years learning from the founders that weekend alone. Fortunately, the time he spent inside the castle did not age his body prematurely.

On the Sunday he was supposed to go back home to his relatives, Harry was given a special trunk by an elf sworn to Hogwarts Castle. The trunk was the property of Rowena Ravenclaw who designed the Room of Requirement in Hogwarts. Rowena, with a sly smile reminiscent of Salazar, told Harry that the trunk had a small living space inside that he can use while in his relative's care. He only needed to touch the eagle crest and say a phrase to reset the password which Rowena supplied him with. Harry's new passphrase was in parseltongue so that only Harry can open it. While Voldemort was also a parseltongue, only Harry knew the phrase. He doubted Voldemort knew of the song "Amazing" by Aerosmith anyway. It also contained a group portrait of the Founders in the living room so they can still communicate over the summer.

Harry was also advised by Godric and Salazar to consult with the Gringott's goblins to have an inheritance test done to see if he had any additional accounts there. He was told that there may be a few galleons fee but there won't be any harm in trying if there was none. Harry agreed and he said that he will have Dobby bring him there as soon as possible.

Harry was silent during the train ride home. His friends tried to talk to him and since it was only a few days since the fiasco in the Ministry of Magic for them, he acted all broody and morose. Harry's godfather died in the bowels of the Ministry in a trap set by Voldemort to get the prophecy which was in the Department of Mysteries. His godfather Sirius Black was initially jailed for betraying Harry's parents to Voldemort. He escaped jail in Harry's third year and was able to convince Harry that he was not the one to betray James and Lily to Voldemort with a series of unfortunate events that resulted in the real traitor's escape. Sirius has been on the run ever since and was allowing Dumbledore and his followers to use his family's old mansion as headquarters to fight Voldemort. Despite being innocent, he was still being pursued by the Ministry since the real traitor got away.

Harry was able to secretly visit the goblins and get his inheritance test. He found out that he was Godric's heir through his father's family. The Potter family was a cadet line of Godric's since his youngest daughter married a Potter. The inheritance of the daughter was not much since in the old days, the eldest son got the lion's share from the parent's fortune. But since the other more senior heirs of Godric had already died out, Harry got control of whatever was left. What Harry got from the inheritance test in gold and properties was from both the Potter and Black families since he was the heir of Sirius in his will. What he was shocked to know was that since the other lines of the Founder's families has died out; he got control of the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw legacies. He does not own Hogwarts since it was gifted to the magical people of Britain but he was granted access to the two founder's small vaults which contained their Grimoires and assorted books which contained spells and other knowledge the paintings could not impart to anyone who was not their heir. Harry was given the choice of being emancipated which of course he took. He did ask the goblins to keep it a secret that he will reveal at the time of his choosing. The Potter, Black, Gryffindor and Ravenclaw family rings were given to him and identified him as the head of these families. The rings merged into the Potter ring and Harry can choose which ring he wants to show. The ring can also be visible or invisible at Harry's whim. He was told by the portraits of Godric and Rowena in the vault that can access the books using the Potter family Grimoire. He just needed to tap the name of the book he needed from list on the first page of the book and then the book will morph into the chosen book until he chose another book in the list.

After being given an accounting of all the money and properties he owned, he found out that he was now quite rich from the Potters and the Blacks so he asked the goblins for a method of getting money from his accounts without going to the bank. He was given a wallet with credit and debit cards from Barclay's and a money pouch which were all keyed in using his blood to work only for him. He also called on Dobby to give him access to the account.

After the accounting, Harry asked the goblins if they had any healers who can help him with his scar. Helga was certain that the scar was not an ordinary one so she suggested that he ask the goblins for help if he found enough money in his account. With the new found wealth, the goblins were more than willing to provide goblin healers who were experts in curse scars. After the examination, they found out about a piece of Voldemort's soul lodged in the scar which was siphoning off a good amount of Harry's magical power in order to stay alive.

The goblin's method of removing the soul fragment involved transferring the soul into an animal, in this case a pig, which they would kill and then burn the animal's body. Harry was put to sleep for four hours and he woke up feeling exhausted but better than ever. Losing the scar felt like an unknown weight he had been carrying was lifted from his shoulders. He was told that it was like his magical core had been locked into fighting with the soul fragment that since it was now free, he should be able to access the full scope of his magical abilities. The findings dovetailed with the conclusions he and the founders formed. One give away of his new abilities was the way his hair started cycling through colors while he slept earlier. Once he woke up, the color went back to his original jet black. The goblins informed him that he might be a metamorphmagus or at least a partial one. He will be discussing it with his tutors later. He was also told to refrain from casting spells in the next forty eight hours to let his magical core to completely recharge.

His bad eyesight also got fixed. He no longer needed a pair of glasses to see clearly. The goblins asked him if he planned to still wear glasses to throw others off that trail. He was offered runes glasses which would look similar to the old glasses but now it is practically unbreakable and scratch proof. Its runic inscriptions also allow you to see the auras of magical beings, night vision, along with thermal optic. All of these can be Harry's for a small fee of course.

When he got home, he discussed the results with the founders. He was not surprised when they told him that they suspected it after he told them about using Gryffindor's sword out of the hat in his second year. Godric and Salazar suspected that the difficulties he was having with his Occlumency and Legilimency along with his metamorphmagus and animagus transformations were the result of the soul fragment's leeching his power. The founders were amazed that Harry was able to perform powerful magic even with the leech using part of his reserves continuously for the past fifteen years. They theorized that since the magical core was like a muscle and since it was constantly used by the leech, he should have more magic available.

Since the Dursley's were told to let Harry be alone because of his godfather's death, Harry spent all his time in the trunk. The trunk had four bedrooms each with its own toilet and bath. It also had its own kitchen and dining room. A potions and alchemy room along with a huge library that he asked Dobby and his house elf friend Winky, who also got Harry's blessing to bond with him after Dobby admitted his bond to Harry, to update. There was a special room dedicated for rituals. It also had a Room of Requirement which Harry would use for training under time dilation.

What boggled Harry's mind the most was what he found waiting for him behind the last door. When Harry stepped into the door, he found that he was outside a good sized manor house beside a small lake near a small mountain. There were gardens surrounding the manor. There were also farms, vineyards, orchards and a forest reaching all the way to the mountain about a mile away from the house. Harry went back inside and asked the founders how this was possible.

Harry found out that the founders were not your normal human witches and wizards. They were immortal godlike beings. The founders refused to tell him anymore than that since such information was better left unsaid. They explained that they were punished for meddling with the creation because they granted magic to some worlds. Their superiors had a policy of non-interference with other races so as punishment; they were exiled for a few centuries as powerful mortal mages. Their other powers were locked until they finished their exile. Rowena explained that the trunk was made before their powers were bound. It was her testing grounds for her powers when she was younger which she brought with her when she became mortal. The trunk existed in its own pocket universe with its own sun and moon. It was a world unto itself with about five percent of the total area of Earth just without people and other sentient beings. The founders established Hogwarts during the last century of their exile as a final gift to the magical community. All of this was believed by Harry since it was the only reason for their achievements and powers.

The founders taught him the location of the hidden room in his study that controlled everything inside the manor and its outside environment. It explains why the surroundings of the manor was not overgrown after a long time not being attended to.

Harry asked if he can bring his friends into the trunk. He was advised that it would be okay provided that he must be given magical oaths by his friends first. He was told to by Rowena how to attach one of the doorways leading outside the manor to a door from a different Potter property. He was not to tell them that they were in a trunk or that the founders were in anyway different from other witches and wizards. After thinking about the requests, Harry concluded that the secrets were very important so he agreed.

Harry continued his training under the tutelage of the founders. He spent about four hours a day under time dilation for the month he was in Privet Drive. He plans on doing the same number of hours under time dilation or even more once he was brought to Grimmauld Place. He decided to inform his friends about the available training once they got back to Hogwarts so that he can keep his emancipation and becoming head of house secret since he would not have to bring them anywhere near his properties. He will just bring them to the RoR in Hogwarts. Salazar agreed with this as the secrets can be his ace in the hole if ever he got into trouble.

During his stay in Privet Drive, he was able to master his metamorphmagus (hereafter referred to as morphing) and his animagus transformation. He can now change his appearance with little thought and can maintain it for weeks at a time even while sleeping without a problem. The problems that he encountered before with the animagus transformation was finally solved. He is now able to fully change after about two years.

The reason for this was the kind of animal he was. It was a shadow phoenix. A shadow phoenix can travel through shadows while also being able to travel through fire like the fire phoenix Fawkes. However, the fire a shadow phoenix uses is gray with silver mixed in. The physical colors of Harry's feathers were also silver and gray. His eyes stayed the same emerald green he had in his human form. The phoenix song of a shadow phoenix can uplift the spirits of a good person while it can also bring terror to the heart of an evil person. The tears of a shadow phoenix also have powerful healing properties.

Harry was also able to perform some rituals to enhance his abilities. He underwent rituals to get stronger, faster, and more acute senses. He also gained better agility and stamina. He is about as strong as ten men and can outrun a horse in full gallop for about three hours without getting exhausted. His sense of sight and hearing became several times more acute and he also seemed to develop a sixth sense for danger where he used his improved agility to dodge spells instead of just using a shield.

His mix of magical and physical training got to the point where he can no longer be hit or touched by a spell or weapon in fights with five or less opponents. These opponents were now at the maximum setting without being on a lethal setting. He is currently defeating ten dummies at the maximum non-lethal setting while getting hit with only a few spells and weapons.

His occlumency and legilimency still needed to be tried out by a person but Harry was confident that they can hold even Snape. He used traditional physical defenses like walls and dragons along with a dome made from titanium over his mindscape but his final defense was that his memories were stored in a computer with biometric scans for his eyes, voice, passphrase and magical signature to gain entry into the computer room filled with poison gas triggered by an infrared detection grid. The infiltrator would also need to know how to connect the computer terminal into a very well hidden data port using a long cable. One wall of the room had hundreds of identical data ports that shifted randomly every minute. Harry doesn't think that a pureblood supremacist wizard even knows how to use a computer let alone enter using the biometric scanners. All these were magically shielded so it cannot be overloaded.

Once he finished his animagus transformation, he also underwent a ritual to gain some of its powers to use in his human form. He got the ability to travel by fire and shadow along with being able to manipulate a silver gray fire as powerful as the fiendfyre spell but very easily controlled.

Once the founders felt he has a good grasp of the basics in his subjects, they began his education on Warding along with curse breaking. Harry gladly accepted their teaching him the difficult subjects. After all, who better to teach him warding than the ones who made the wards of Hogwarts. The castle's wards were the very best in the wizarding world. All four founders taught him since they all had a part in designing the defenses of the castle. They also told him where the main wardstone of Hogwarts is located and on how to access and modify it. Only Harry and Voldemort can enter the chamber since one needed to be an heir of the founder to get inside. Luckily, Voldemort doesn't know where the chamber is. The secret was lost after the founders died. This will allow Harry to bring the wards up to the most lethal settings if the castle was ever attacked en masse.

The elves of Hogwarts also brought the basilisk skin and other remains to the storage room. One of the elves was skilled in tanning leather so Harry asked him to make a few basilisk skin jackets, vests, pants, boots, and gloves. Harry also received a special basilisk leather backpack with feather light and unlimited space inside to hold all his valuables.

Harry bartered with the goblins to teach him the goblin secrets in forging armors and weapons along with jewelry making and enchanting for all the sixty foot long basilisk's meat. At first the goblins balked at his request. When Harry returned with a kilo of the very expensive delicacy, he was met by the ruler of the goblins, Ragnok XII. The leader negotiated a deal with Harry wherein they would teach Harry the secrets of their crafts for all the basilisk meat and a magical oath to never teach or show, in any way shape or form, anyone in this world about the crafts. He agreed to this however he asked that he be tutored in a place of his choosing and an oath to never betray, in any way shape or form, Harry or his secrets. Harry was to fetch the goblin artisan from Gringott's and portkeyed to a Potter property. They then went through the doorway connecting to the trunk. The goblin smith grew to like Harry personally and taught him above and beyond their agreement. It included tips on goblin healing, and training with the weapons they forged. Harry also got a practice partner for his occlumency and legilimency training. The goblin master named Goldenfist stayed with Harry for the rest of his stay in Privet Drive.

During this time in the trunk with Goldenfist, he saw that goblins wielded wandlessly like the house elves. He asked the founders and the goblin smith on how to do it. He was told that casting spells wandlessly was a purely on will power it was also a bit draining at first since you need to regulate how much magic was used. Harry found that he was able to banish, summon and levitate things easily without a wand however other spells needed finesse, not just the raw power he used to brute force it to work. The long hours of meditating on his animagus form along with the occlumency training did help a lot with regulating his magical output. Just before summer was over, Harry was able to do almost all spells wandlessly. He did prefer to use his healing spells with a wand since it needed precision.

Harry also learned from some magics of the elves that are possible for wizards to learn. Most of the spells were useful in housekeeping and in cooking. However, Harry learned important spells to use on creatures and plants.

Speaking of elves, he gained about fifty more elves in stasis from one abandoned property including Dobby and Winky's brothers and sisters. The elves were put in stasis upon reaching the bonding age. It turned out that the Blacks bred house elves to sell on the wizard black market. Harry transferred all of them into the trunk and woke them all up. He bonded all if the elves and tasked Dobby and Winky to be his Head Elves. The elves were so happy to be reunited with their family and bonded to the great Harry Potter. Dobby and Winky got permission from Harry to repopulate the surrounding areas of the trunk with animals and plants since there were now enough elves to care for them. The trunk became self-sufficient in food and drink and they were even able to earn money from the produce, meat and dairy products in excess of their daily needs. The gardens, vineyards and orchards were restored and put back into production. Some elves even fished in the lake. The elves formed a small community which grew to include the Hogwarts elves since there was so much space available. Eventually, Harry was asked by Dobby and Winky to take in abused elves which Harry whole heartedly agreed to. Since they were in time dilation for about four to six hours a day, they had a lot of money earned. Harry asked the elves to use it to build a town for themselves which included a school and hospital for them. They did not spend much since wood was plentiful in the forest. When Harry was first informed of the growing earnings, he was amazed they earn that much in such a short time.

When Harry was fetched by the members of the Order of the Phoenix, he went without protest. He was just silent since he was expected to still be grieving. When he arrived back in Grimmauld, he was immediately taken to his room by Ginny, Hermione, and Ron. They wanted to check on how Harry was doing since they were not able to talk much on the train ride home from Hogwarts. He reassured his three friends that he was okay and thanked them for the food they sent him while at the Dursley's.

The rest of the month before school started was more of the same routine he had in Privet Drive. Harry grew to love exercise and learning. Just before he returned to school, he figured he had about twenty five years of training and learning all sorts of stuff. The best thing was he remembered everything since his occlumency granted him near perfect recall of all the information he studied. He was already beyond a Master's education in his Hogwarts subjects excluding History of Magic, and Divination.

Whenever he was not in the trunk, Harry was in the Black library reading materials on DADA, Arithmancy, and Ancient Runes. He claimed that all he did in Privet Drive was learn these subjects. He claimed that he had an affinity for the subjects since it came easily to him. He wished he had these classes instead of Divination. However, he was alright studying it on his own. He did ask and received permission from his Head of House to drop Divination. Dumbledore initially refused to do so but further "persuasion" by the Transfiguration professor changed his mind.

Harry was used by Dumbledore to get an old colleague of his to return to teaching Potions since he had a hard time finding a competent instructor in DADA. Snape will instead be transferring to DADA.

The year started out normally. Harry explained what he has been doing and why to Luna, Hermione, Ginny, Neville and Ron, he did get the oaths the founders wanted before he told them about the RoR and who his instructors were. All aside from Ron were excited to go into the training. He did not want any more studying aside from the normal load he had. He did promise to watch them practice. Ron usually just ate, sleep and bitch and moan about studying whenever they were under time dilation. After going with them a few times, he never went to train with them again. The others were able to learn faster since Harry was also teaching them some of what he was taught by the founders. He was not able to teach some other spells which needed a lot of raw magical power. None of the other four is near Harry's power levels.

Before Christmas break started, the other four people were able to successfully transform into their animagus forms. Luna was an owl, Ginny was a fox, Neville was a bear while Hermione became a cat. Harry just told them that he did not continue with his animagus transformation since his animal was quite embarrassing. Harry was advised by the founders not to reveal his metamorph or animagus forms. Secrets of that order can be his back up plans if there was a dire need to use it. The four also completed the studies that was being taught in Hogwarts and have moved on to independent studies.

On October, Harry was told by the founders of a Horcrux in the RoR. The founders taught Harry and his group a spell designed by the Egyptians on how to detect the abominations. The tiara of Ravenclaw was one of Voldemort's horcrux that Dumbledore was telling Harry about. Harry sent it along with a letter explaining what he wanted done with it to the goblins. Ragnok was incensed that there were more of these in existence that he ordered a sweep to be done in Gringott's. They found out about the cup of Helga's that way. Along with the ring that Dumbledore found, the diary that possessed Ginny in her first year, and Harry's scar they have destroyed five horcruxes. They did not tell any of this to the headmaster since they concluded that he was dying already from the curse on the ring. Hermione and Ginny tried to find a way to stop it but they were unable to find a solution.

The Christmas holidays was marred by many attacks by the followers of Voldemort called the Death Eaters. There was an attack just as the students were about to ride the train back to London.

Harry's group of four along with some help from the students from the defense class Harry taught in his fifth year were able to hold the death eaters to a stale mate until the aurors arrived. Harry and Neville were able to kill Dolohov, Macnair, along with the Lestrange brothers while Luna, Ginny and Hermione protected the students. They did not use any advanced spells other than cutting, blasting, and stunners along with shields. Harry used the piercing spells he overpowered to crush the shields of the death eaters while Neville used blasting curses. The four of them had very quick reactions that they were able to pull it off using just standard Hogwarts spells. They only plan on using advanced magic if things got out of hand. Their first engagement after training was a success.

Dumbledore, and the aurors questioned them on what they did and their wands were tested for the spells they used. They also had witnesses in the form of Hagrid, McGonagall, and Sinistra on what happened and what spells the students used. Aside from the four DEs that the boys killed in battle, there were another six stunned and bound by ropes by the girls and the DA.

Dumbledore was guilt tripping Harry and Neville for the loss of lives that could have been guided to a path of good. He was justly chastised by the parents who went to Hogwarts to fetch their kids. The DEs were using killing curses and other unforgivable spells while the kids only used standard Hogwarts spells to defend themselves. There were still quite a few students suffering te effects of the cruciatus or torture spell. Harry's group was seething internally for having their self-defense criticized while their faces showed only saddened expressions at the suffering students. The defenders were let go after questioning and were thanked profusely by the parents, teachers and students along with the aurors for doing their jobs for them. Dumbledore just looked on with a disappointed expression.

The return of the group to Grimmauld place was quiet. Neville's grandmother was staying with them at Harry's request. They were contemplating the deaths they caused since this was the first time they took a life. Mrs. Weasley was upset that the children had to fight at all while Mad Eye Moody was very happy with their performance. Remus and Tonks did take them aside after a few days to talk to them of their own experiences in taking a life. After this talk, the group felt better. They realized that this was for real and that it was kill or be killed in the end.

Their return to school came too soon and they continued to home their skills. Towards the end of the year, Harry was able to learn from Professor Slughorn that Tom Riddle as Voldemort was known in his student years in Hogwarts was fascinated with making seven horcruxes. They theorized that there were two more. Since Harry's horcrux scar was not properly anchored, they realized that it was more of an accidental horcrux rather than a deliberate one.

They were proven right at the end of the year. Dumbledore located a locket rumored to be Salazar's and took Harry with him to find it. Dumbledore foolishly forced Harry to let him drink the poison that filled the basin where the horcrux was located. When they went back to Hogwarts, Dumbledore was too weak to help Harry fight against the DEs that had infiltrated Hogwarts. The headmaster was able to send a distress call to the Order for reinforcements. Harry was forced to watch as Draco Malfoy and Snape killed Dumbledore. Harry was finally able to break free from the body bind that Dumbledore hit him in the back. He chased the two DEs while fighting other DEs. He was able to kill a few werewolves along with Fenrir Greyback using a bag of powdered silver as a distraction to drill piercing curses on their chests.

When he caught up with Snape and Malfoy, he was able to cut off Snape's wand hand with a laso made of fire. Since Snape was down, he took his former professor's wand and bound him tightly. Draco was more easily dispatched and he was bound and gagged within minutes. What saved Malfoy and Snape was the appearance of Bellatrix LeStrange and Neville chasing her. Neville let LeStrange get to him and used his emotions to outwit him. Harry had to save Neville from being decapitated which resulted in the three DEs escaping via portkey. As Harry placed Neville in a stasis and floated him up to the castle, they met the Carrow twins. Harry summoned Dobby and had him transport Neville to the infirmary. He concentrated on the Carrows to vent his frustrations at the escape of the three DEs. The Carrows were later found with holes from their foreheads to the back of their skulls.

In the aftermath of the battle, they found out that Draco Malfoy and Pettigrew led the DEs from the tunnel on the Shrieking Shack. The wards were disabled by a former Ward specialist in Voldemort's ranks.

The death of Dumbledore started a near panic that the ministry was unable to counter. Although many DEs and werewolves were killed and caught, this became a victory for Voldemort's forces. The Order became fractured and the ministry on the verge of collapse.

The only rallying point for the forces of good was Hogwarts. Harry had asked McGonagall to step up as interim Headmistress for the school which the board of directors had no choice but approve of since Harry gave his public support. No one could deny the Boy Who Lived's popularity. Harry became the Light side's symbol whether he wanted to or not.

Harry took this temporary lull in the war to scour the headmaster's office for books and valuable things with the help of the Sorting hat and Fawkes. He found out a few journals of Dumbledore's which outlined his thoughts on what the other horcruxes were and books on obscure magics he can use. He also found a journal by Nicolas Flamel about his Philosopher's Stone. He saved it for later since it was not pertinent to the present problems. He also took the ring of the Gaunt family to see if Salazar recognized it since it was supposed to be a family heirloom.

He told Harry that the ring was not his but that he knew what it was. It is called the Resurrection stone a part of the Deathly Hallows. The three hallows were rumored to be created by Death and that whoever controlled all three at the same time will become Death's master. Salazar and the other founders did not believe the stories but they told Harry that they knew what and where the other two hallows were. They were sure that Harry's invisibility cloak was the invisibility cloak in the legend and that the wand of destiny or deathstick was the one used by Dumbledore. They told Harry that since Snape killed Dumbledore and he defeated and took Snape's wand, Harry is now the master of the wand. They left it up to Harry whether or not to unite the hallows or not. Harry decided to let the wand remain in Dumbledore's possession when he is buried. He does not want to unite all three since he did not know what will happen. He will just keep the other hallows safe and hidden just in case.

Harry and the other three visited Neville and the other wounded in the hospital wing. After erecting privacy wards discretely, Neville made his apologies to the group. If he did not lose his cool, they could have taken two more of Voldemort's most trusted and powerful lieutenants. Harry and the others forgave Neville but asked him to never let it happen again.

Ron had been wounded grievously when he was fighting one of the DEs. Luckily, Hermione was able put him in stasis before he lost too much blood. Ron later admitted to being too cocky in the fight. He thought that since he disarmed the DE, he was no longer in danger. The DE had a spare wand that he secretly took out of his boot. He also admitted to being too lazy to put on the basilisk vest he was given. The others just shook their heads at Ron's attitude. Ron sheepishly asked Harry to let him join in the training sessions. Ginny and Luna will be helping the portraits being him up to speed. The group learned that the locket was a fake and that the original was taken by someone with the initials R.A.B.

After the funeral for Dumbledore, Harry went back to Privet Drive and talked to his relatives. The years he had spent training in time compression and conversing with the founders made him more mature. He offered his aunt money to relocate to a different country if they wanted to. The blood protections on the house would only last until his seventeenth birthday. Petunia Dursley recognized the danger they were in. She convinced Vernon to take the money Harry was offering to relocate to Canada. The couple had a big fight about it but since Dudley made it clear that he would migrate with his mom whatever his father decided, Vernon did not have a choice. Harry gave Petunia a cheque from Barclay's for eight hundred thousand pounds. Vernon was speechless after he called the bank to check if the cheque was really funded. Harry told them to make their arrangements quickly since they only had six weeks left. The Dursleys left a week before Harry's birthday.

That same day, Harry brought his belongings to Grimmauld Place. He had snuck out of Hogwarts with Luna the day after Dumbledore died to check and modify the wards of Grimmauld place since Snape was keyed into the wards. He also instructed his elves to make the place habitable since he figured that more and more people will be using it. He ad the elves put all suspicious items into an expandable trunk so that none of the soon to be residents were in any danger. The army of elves finished fixing up the house in one day. The mansion became more inviting to live in. The old furniture were shrunk and stored in a different expanded trunk. The walls and ceilings had a fresh coat of paint and new wallpapers.

During the cleanup, Dobby and Winky told Harry that Kreacher had a locket that was similar to the one they found in the cave. Kreacher told Harry about how it came to be in his possession and that he was unable to finish Master Regulus's last order to destroy it. Harry took pity on the elf and gave the fake locket to him in return for the cursed one. He told Kreacher that he will have the goblins remove the curse in it so he can fulfill his old master's order. Kreacher became more cooperative after that and he maintained the clean state of the mansion after Harry's other elves finished.

Remus Lupin, Mad Eye Moody, and Minerva McGonagall became the leaders of the Order. Harry offered the use of Grimmauld Place to them and told them that he had the goblins make sure it was safe to use again. A quick message to Ragnok was all it took to have Bill Weasley confirm it. Harry did tell them that they were guests in his home so he expected them to respect his privacy. Harry appropriated the top floor of the mansion for his personal use and that it was off limits to members of the Order unless he invited them. The order had free run of the first three floors of the mansion.

The group agreed with Dumbledore's theory that the final horcrux was the snake Nagini. Voldemort just had too much control over it even for a parseltongue. He did take Remus, Minerva and Mad Eye into the secret of the horcruxes. Harry told them that it was Dumbledore's request that Harry's group search and destroy them. Minerva collaborated Harry's facts since she was told by Dumbledore of his imminent demise. In the meantime, the group continued to hone their skills in one of the room Harry had expanded to use as training room.

The day of Harry's birthday, the ministry fell. The minister of magic was murdered in his home by Voldemort himself and a special message was left on the wall of the minister's bedroom for Harry, written in blood. "Happy seventeenth birthday, Harry. I will be coming for you." The department heads with the exemption of Arthur Weasley were killed that same night since the Weasleys were in Grimmauld. The ministry building was taken over by the DEs so the remaining light sided ministry employees destroyed critical parts of the ministry. The floo system's main wardstone and its alternate were stolen along with the self-updating list of witches and wizards living in the UK and their blood status. The magical trackers used to monitor spells by the ministry were destroyed so Voldemort cannot track down where witches and wizards are.

The downfall of the Ministry of Magic started a mass exodus of refugees relocating abroad or to the safety within the walls of Hogwarts. The three unused wings of the castle were quickly cleaned up by Harry's elves. The professors along with the aurors and other capable individuals expanded all the available rooms for occupancy. Harry was glad for the help of his elves and the stockpiles of food and drinks in his trunk. When the elves were questioned where they came from, the elves simply and honestly replied that they were friends of the Hogwarts elves who had nothing to do. Harry's elves were easily distinguishable since they all had gray shirts with black vests and pants. They were also very healthy since they had an overabundance of food in the trunk.

As it was inevitable, Harry took McGonagall aside, and after taking her oath of secrecy on her magic, to tell her that he was the heir of Gryffindor and Ravenclaw. He told her that he would be activating the intent wards of Hogwarts. Anyone who has evil intentions against the students and Hogwarts castle along with any of its resident will be stunned once they entered the wards. A large sign stating this was posted on the edge of the wards where the entrance was. Anyone stunned will be taken to the dungeons for questioning.

The state of affairs in Britain continued in this vein until Halloween. On the evening of October 31, giants and werewolves were sighted the by scouts on brooms. When Harry found out about it, he asked Minerva to withdraw all students and refugees to stay within the walls of the castle. Once the scouts returned, he will be putting the wards on their maximum defensive setting and he will also be activating the secret offensive wards of the school that has never been used before.

Once the people were all inside the school, Harry activated the wards. A huge dome went up over the whole castle and seven huge enchanted stone dragons each easily the size of a fifteen story building rose from the Black lake. The dozens of stone gargoyles that decorated the castle came alive along with about a hundred suits of armors within the castle itself. The gargoyles flew to the walls surrounding Hogwarts and suits of armor patrolled the grounds of the castle in teams of ten.

All those who wished to fight voluntarily were told to assemble in the great hall while those who will not and cannot fight were escorted by Harry's elves to the cavernous chamber of secrets that was cleaned and prepared for this eventuality by Harry's elves. The warding and password to the chamber was changed by Harry with Salazar's blessing. It had stockpiles of food, drinks and medicine to last a month and it also had an exit which led to the mountains outside Hogwarts. There were hundreds of portkeys waiting for them there to take them to various places around the world in the event that Voldemort won.

Harry's group all wore their basilisk skin armor while the elves passed out dragon hide vests to te volunteers. Harry spent a fortune buying these vest from suppliers outside Britain. Luckily, the elves had a lot of galleons stored from selling their products. Harry only used a tiny fraction of his liquid assets to provide the fighters with the vests and emergency potion kit filled with pepper up, blood replenishing and pain killing potions along with burn had about two hundred pairs of vests and kits available. The fighters all got equipped and there were still about thirty left. The volunteers were a bit more confident now since they had some sort of physical protection. They were asked to wear the vests under jackets or sweaters to give the fighters some form of surprise. He only asked that these vests be returned if they won. He planned on giving these vests to the aurors and hit wizards after the war.

Harry discussed the use of muggle guns and explosives secretly with the founders. He wanted every possible advantage against a numerically superior enemy. The founders all agreed with Harry's logic. They also used muggle weapons in their time though it was just swords, daggers and archery. Harry did not discuss it with the others because he knew there might be some backlash from the more conservative leaning wizards. He also knew that Ginny, Neville, and Ron viewed muggle weaponry with distrust.

Harry's group all had a sword and a dagger and each had a sawed off shotgun strapped to their back. Harry took Dumbledore's idea of using a handgun against the Nazi's and Grindewald a bit further with the shotguns. The shotguns all had runes to keep them silent, accurate and devastating even at a great distance and to stop them from overheating. It had self-duplicating shells that are especially made to kill elephants. Each shell had a few silver pellets mixed in to be very debilitating for werewolves. Each shotgun was charmed to minimize the recoil and also had cushioning charms on the butts to further protect the user. This will be their main weapon for werewolves and giants with the swords and daggers for closed in fights. Harry also gave about twenty of the muggleborns and half-bloods a shotgun each. He and Hermione trained them secretly in a spare room he expanded and transfigured into a shooting range. They learned easily since the shotguns had runes which help guide the shots.

Harry had the elves plant remotely triggered anti-personnel land mines and claymores with silver metal balls inside using disillusion charms near the entrance of the castle. Harry shadow travelled alone to the top of the wall where the main gate stood in his invisibility cloak and waited for the giants, werewolves and death eaters to arrive.

Once the enemies were all crowded and in range near the main gate, he triggered the explosives. The silver metal balls from the claymores and the explosives from the land mines wreaked hell on the enemy formations. Almost half of six hundred strong enemy contingents died instantly. All the giants caught in the explosions were bleeding profusely while many of the werewolves were writhing in pain from the wounds caused by the silver metal balls. He mentally ordered the enchanted dragons to attack along with the gargoyles.

While the dragons and gargoyles were resistant to spells and physical attacks, they still went down after some time but they took many enemies with them. They were primarily used by Harry and his group as distractions.

After the huge explosion, he sent a patronus to Hermione to tell them to get to the wall above the main gate along with the other defenders with the shotguns. The wards of the castle shielded them so they took their time to aim their shots at the eyes, mouths, and throats of the giants. The enemy was distracted by the dragons and gargoyles so they did not notice the giants and werewolves' dying one by one until it was too late.

Harry felt an enormous buildup of power coming from the back of the enemy formation. He immediately asked the others to withdraw since he knew it was Voldemort. Just as the last wall defender flew away on his broom, the sky darkened quickly and one by one lightning bolts began to hammer the dome. Harry knew the dome could only take so much damage so he travelled by shadow to the wardstone to check it. The huge crystal was glowing bright from the strain the lightning bolts and assorted curses. He was advised by the founders from a painting within the room to drop the dome or it will collapse all the wards of the castle including the wards protecting the walls of the castle itself which they would need later against physical assault. He informed Minerva, Mad Eye and Remus who was coordinating the defense from the great hall of the situation before he collapsed the dome. He also gave orders to the suits of armor through the wards to go outside to the castle grounds to prepare for incoming assault troops. After collapsing the dome, he went to the back of the great hall under his cloak to join the defenders.

Dementors were the first wave of attackers. Harry and those who can cast patroni went out to meet them. After casting his patronus, he concentrated on his magic and drew Gryffindor's sword. He was told by Godric that it can physically harm a dementor. He charged the nearest dementor to test this. He was able to decapitate it. He did this a few times before he was able to meet the leader of the dementors. After he killed the dementor captain, the other soul eating monsters fled from the battle. This victory was short-lived since the werewolves and few remaining giants were now appearing on the horizon. Harry rested for a few minutes to conserve his strength and magic since he knew that he still had to face Voldemort later. After the brief respite, he rejoined the defenders. There were now about two hundred werewolves, a hundred fifty masked DEs and about thirty giants. They targeted the giants first.

From the forest, a hail of arrows greeted the werewolves. On Helga's advice, Harry gave to the centaurs about thousand arrow heads coated in silver. He did not ask them to join in defending Hogwarts. He gave it to the centaurs to defend themselves since they did not wish to evacuate. Harry thanked the stars for whatever made the stubborn centaurs change their minds.

The giants slowly fell one by one to the shotguns. It had to be targeted on the soft spots or it would just damage the hard skin a little. Concentrated fire by teams of five did produce better results. As the battle went under way in earnest, the wards Harry placed on Dumbledore's tomb alerted him to people attempting breech it. Harry told his group and Minerva of this so they can have it checked by the spotters on the Astronomy tower. The frightened response was that it was Voldemort with about twenty DEs and a huge snake.

This was the opportunity Harry was looking for. Harry asked Neville and Ron to sneak under their own invisibility cloak and try to get the snake alone and kill it. Harry, Hermione, Luna and Ginny along with her older brothers and a few experienced order members would try and distract the DEs and Voldemort.

Harry and company began the battle with overpowered blasting curses which took out about five of Voldemort's followers. The defenders of Hogwarts took cover behind the low walls that surrounded the graveyard. Harry engaged Voldemort in a battle of words for a few minutes while the grave robbers traded shots with the defenders. After some time, the DEs were ordered to charge and engage the defenders in a pitched battle while Voldemort and Harry dueled one on one.

The DEs and the defenders had to take cover in the middle of their own fights because of the amount of magic the two titans were unleashing. It was just the kind of battle the defenders were hoping their champion can give Voldemort. The dark lord was extremely surprised and perturbed at the power and skill his younger opponent was showing. Harry used both his wand and Gryffindor's sword in the fight. Charms, curses and transfiguration were flying from the two mages. Harry was on the defensive since he did not wish to use up his reserves until Nagini was dead. His chance came when a loud explosion from the area near Voldemort's rear. Voldemort was distracted so Harry was able to get near Voldemort and slice off his wand. Voldemort gave off a scream and banished Harry wandlessly. Harry was praising his physical training and armor since he was able to shrug off the overpowered banishing spell with just a sore left side. As Harry stood up, to return to battle, he saw Voldemort smile and draw the Elder Wand from his robes. Voldemort's smile became a puzzled from when he noticed that his spells were not more powerful than his yew wand. Harry smiled inwardly and doubled his efforts to defeat Voldemort.

At this time, both sides of the battle have stopped fighting and were watching the battle of the titans, each side well aware that the war's outcome no longer rested on themselves but on the two mages fighting for supremacy.

The battle ended with a something many still remember. Harry got close to Voldemort and once more their spells collided, just like the time in the graveyard after Voldemort's rebirth. This time the spell easily moved towards Voldemort's wand since it would not contest its master's will. The wand instead drained Voldemort's power. Harry smirked when he saw Voldemort's expression. Voldemort pressed his right thumb over his Dark Mark on his left forearm. One by one, his death eaters fell dead because Voldemort drained their life and magic to sustain him. Harry then experienced pain unlike any he had experienced before. His magical core was expanding very quickly to accommodate the raw magical power he was receiving. It was a good thing that Voldemort's wand hand exploded when it did from channeling too much magic since it was having trouble expanding to match the power he was receiving.

Harry staggered to his feet; he did not notice that he was down on his knees from the pain. He saw that all the death eaters were dead and Voldemort was lying down on a pool of his own black blood. Harry walks painfully to Voldemort and beheaded him. The evil that plagued him for all his life had ended.

Harry collapsed after this. He was taken by Dobby and Winky to the hospital wing. Madame Pomfrey immediately cast diagnostic charms and determined that Harry was in a magically induced coma to let his body get used to the size of his enormous magical core. Harry's group immediately went to him to guard him while he recovered. The order and the aurors along with the volunteers were busy getting the wounded help from healers. The werewolves immediately surrendered after they transformed back to their human form since the magic cast by Voldemort to force their transformation fizzled upon his death.

When Dobby was invisibly guarding his master, he heard that healers from St. Mungo's were pressuring Poppy to have him transferred to their care so they can run more invasive tests on Harry since Harry was now safe to transport and was now only in a very deep sleep to recover from magical and physical exhaustion, Dobby took hold of Harry and brought him to the trunk since he did not trust the people from St. Mungo's.

The healers and mediwitches along with the mediwizards were in a panic since Harry Potter disappeared. When Hermione learned of this, she immediately called for Dobby and Winky. She was told what the elf Dobby heard and his instructions from his master. He was to be left in Poppy's care and if he was safe to be transported and heal on his own without the need for monitoring, he wanted to be transported to his secret room. The elves were not to reveal the existence of the trunk under any circumstances. Hermione then relayed this information to McGonagall, Remus and Moody. They then rounded on the group of healers from St. Mungo's to take care of the other people injured and leave Harry Potter alone.

Harry woke up with mild aches on his body from a week and a half of bed rest. He immediately went to the bathroom to relieve himself. He asked for a soup and some hot tea to eat. After eating he asked the elves where the trunk was along with his wand, sword and other belongings. He was told the sword and other weapons have been cleaned and in the armory while his wands, a ring, his wallet and money pouch along with his cloak were in a drawer of his bedside table.

"Excuse me Dobby, what do you mean wands? I only have one wand. And what ring are you talking about?"

"Yous only haves one wand befores, master. Old whisker's wand and Tommy's wand also appeared when I tooks yous here along with the ring of old whiskers. Your cloak was in your pockets, Master Harry Potter Sir!"

"Oh. Okay, thanks Dobby."

Dobby bowed and popped away. Harry was a bit hesitant to open the drawer. He saw Voldemort's wand which has been repaired along with his holly wand and the Elder wand. The Resurrection stone was also there with his Invisibility cloak. When he reached out for his holly wand, the ring appeared on his ring finger while the Elder wand appeared on his wand. His cloak fastened itself to him then the three Deathly Hallows slowly dissolved into nothing. He felt a strange sensation from under his right bicep where he saw a mark about the size of his thumb. The mark was white with a line bisecting a circle surrounded by a triangle. The same mark he saw on Dumbledore's book about the Deathly Hallows. The mark began to dissolve into nothing. Harry went to a mirror to double check but he can't find it anymore.

He consulted with the portraits of the founders in his study. They suggested that he will the hallows to appear. The wand and cloak refused to appear but when he summoned the ring, only the black stone appeared on his palm. He willed it to disappear and it did. He did this a few times with the same results. The founders asked him to will himself invisible. On the third try, he felt the strange sensation again under his bicep. The mark was back but when he willed himself to be visible, it disappeared again. He tried using his magic without a wand. He tried to levitate a book and it went straight up to the ceiling with a loud thud. He tried it again with lesser power than he usually did without a wand. It still went up to the ceiling with a small thud. He tried again and again until he got it. It seems the power he absorbed from Voldemort and his followers is permanent. He thought it was just a temporary boost. He engaged the time dilation controls to have more time to figure things out.

He rested for a few more days before diving back in to training himself to control his new found powers. When he meditated on locating his magical core, he was still found it easily but he was boggled by the change he saw. His core which was a sphere of about twenty four inch in diameter was now as big as Hagrid! It still had the same color which was white, gold and silver but it was just very big. Harry had to spend about six more months in time compression before he was able to completely get his magic under the same amount of control as before. He never had to use a wand again aside from the very difficult healing spells which required a very precise wand movement. He made sure he was completely in control before he went outside the trunk. It was almost five AM when he first woke up from his deep slumber after defeating Voldemort. It was now almost noon. Harry smiled and willed himself invisible then he shadow travelled to the room beside the great hall which they used back in his fourth year after his name was called in the Triwizard Tournament. He was expecting that most of the crowds were gone since it has been a week and a half but the hall was still full of people. Harry tried to walk unnoticed to where he saw his friends eating but a loud shout of "Look! It's the Man Who Conquered!" was heard. A lot of shouted how are yous and thank you for killing He Who Must Not Be Named was heard throughout the great hall. He immediately cast a sonorus on himself and told the masses that their thanks are appreciated and that they should all go back eating since he slept for almost two weeks and he was very hungry. The crowd laughed and parted for him. His friends made room for him and let him eat for a bit before asking him what happened. He told them that he has just woken up and went straight here to eat. He will go to Poppy directly after the meal to have himself checked but he quietly told them that he checked himself out and he was fine just a bit overslept. Hermione just nodded silently along with the rest of his group since they were in a public place. They would question him later after his checkup.

Poppy was glad he was up and about. He got a clean bill of health but Poppy asked him to consent to be monitored for the next twenty four hours just to be sure. He agreed if he can be placed in a private room since there were too many well-wishers that he wanted to hide from. Beside the visitors will just disturb the real patients. Poppy agreed to his request so he asked the group to follow him.

Minerva, Remus and Moody joined them along with Kingsley who was the temporary wartime minister of magic in Hogwarts. He was asked to resign during Harry's coma by the Wizengamot. The supposed reason was so that an election can be held to determine a new minister. However, since the purebloods still have control of the Wizengamot, a man named Archibald Wallace.

After asking how Harry was doing with his recovery, Kingsley began to discuss recent events.

"Harry, the purebloods have been quickly amassing positive press to further their agenda and the sheep that is the wizarding public are eating it up. Five minutes after I was forced to resign, they elected a very pro pureblood minister. The new minister Waltham is just as bad as Fudge but smarter. He sent all those marked DEs we captured and seized their assets for the ministry. The new administration also quietly held secret trials to throw in the moderate purebloods not in their power bloc to the veil of death by saying they were secret collaborators to Voldemort. However those like Umbridge who are staunchly pro-pureblood are getting away with the old imperius defense which they can pass off since they are unmarked even though they were the ones in charge of the concentration camps for non-purebloods," said Kingsley.

"The only ones they haven't forced into the veil are the ones who fought with us against Voldemort. However I have been hearing whispers saying that they are going to be forced to resign like Kingsley by using blackmail and feeding rumors to the media saying they were just turn coats who sided with us when they saw Voldemort was losing," commented McGonagall.

"They are even now pushing more legislation to force werewolves like me to into registering. They claim these laws are for the protection of the public. The giants who did not participate in Voldemort's plans were exiled to other countries. It is very scary since they running very efficiently. It has only been a few days after the end o the war but they have steam rolled all these into force already," said Remus.

"My dad is also hearing some pretty insidious rumors about you Harry. They are saying that they are grateful to the things you have done but they are very concerned about the deaths of many pureblood family heads. They are saying that you drained the DEs o their powers on purpose and that you are going to be the next dark lord. They say that you were only fighting Voldemort to eliminate your competition and that since he's dead, you'll try and move in to replace Voldemort, said Ginny in disbelief."

"They want us six to appear this weekend to submit to an inquiry on how we were able to defeat Voldemort even though we are very young. They say that since I am muggleborn, I must have been stealing magic like you to become powerful since muggleborns should not have been able to defeat those of pureblood," cried Hermione.

"They are lauding Ginny, Ron, and myself as good purebloods doing their duty and that this inquiry is just to extoll us three and to vilify you Harry, along with Luna and Hermione. I am sorry Remus but they also plan to crucify you for being a spy of Voldemort," stated Neville sadly.

"My dad said Umbridge might be the one leading the inquiry and questioning. They said they have a source that will prove their claims," Luna added.

"I believe that we should not go to this hearing. We are being set up," said Harry.

"You might not have a choice. They have been playing up this inquiry as a chance to hear your story. Since the public are also clamoring for gossip, they all want it to happen too. The press, meaning Rita Skeeter, has undoubtedly been fed stories and the opinion section of the papers are saying that if your group don't show up, then you are hiding things," Kingsley informed them sadly.

Harry told them he needed time to consider a few things. He signaled Hermione and the others to follow but Ron said he was going to the kitchens to eat. All these bad news was making him hungry. The group just nodded their acceptance. They were used to Ron's behavior regarding problems.

When the group reached the RoR, they discussed what they plan to do. They were going to go along with the inquiry but they were going to be prepared for contingencies in case it turns out badly. Harry told them to pack whatever valuables they need. He asked them to wear their back up portkeys and wear their basilisk armors. He gave them small moleskin coin bag that has unlimited storage. He gave Ginny the one for Ron. He also told them that he was going to Gringott's to do a few things.

When he arrived in Gringott's he went to his account manager. He asked for a meeting with Ragnok. He told the goblin king what he thinks might happen on Friday at the inquiry. He asked them to procure passports and other legal identities and a set of false papers for Hermione, Luna, Ginny, Neville, and Ron along with Remus, Tonks and all their families. He also asked that trust funds for these people be set up in the Salem branch of Gringott's for one hundred thousand US dollars and another hundred thousand galleons. He also asked for all the contents of his vaults to be transferred there but to leave one hundred thousand galleons in his account here in Gringott's London. He explained to Ragnok that he had complete confidence in Gringott's but he did not want the goblins to be blamed by the pureblood idiots if they have to escape. They both know that the next step the ministry will take is to seize their assets. He also asked that the land and other properties be sold immediately to a foreign corporation called the Porter Real Estate Company Ltd. He would of course own this corporation under his alias as Henry Porter. He doubted that the purebloods would even get the obvious connection. Ragnok agreed to his requests and wished him luck.

Harry went back to Hogwarts and told the others that he was prepared for the event that they might be branded as the new dark lord and his inner circle as he laughingly called them. He just asked them to be ready with their portkeys or to grab Fawkes if necessary. Fawkes has taken to hanging around his fellow phoenix since the death of Dumbledore.

Friday morning came. Those called to testify in the inquiry were sent an invitation Wednesday evening. Harry, Luna, Hermione, Ginny, Neville and Ron along with Remus Lupin each received one that instructed them to be in the main Court Room at two o' clock pm. They all ate their lunch in Grimmauld place. The rest of the Weasley, the Grangers, Luna's dad and Neville's gran along with the Tonkses were all prepared. Neville's parents have passed away long before Voldemort regained his body. They had brought their most prized possessions and some spare clothes in shrunken trunks they carried with them. They had asked their loved ones to remain in Headquarters. Only Mr. Weasley and Mr. Lovegood will go since Arthur Weasley had to report to his ministry job and Xeno Lovegood had to get the news for his paper. Both men do have an assigned elf, Dobby and the reformed Kreacher, to transport them if their portkeys did not work.

They were all trying their best to be cheerful and positive but there was a cloud of foreboding that dogged their thoughts. The group picked at their food with the exemption of Ron. The quit luncheon was soon over and they retired to their own rooms to prepare. The group wore their basilisk armor under their finest formal robes. Remus, Arthur and Xeno wore dragon hide vests, pants and boots under their robes. They all left the mansion in one expanded ministry car that Kingsley secured for them.

Once they got to the Ministry, they were asked to surrender their wands. They did so willingly. The wands they surrendered were real wands made from the same wood and core that made up their wands. Their real wands were left with Winky who was secretly following the group. The group was all seated in a row that faced the audience. Percy Weasley gave a meaningful glance at Ron while shaking his brother's hand. Percy pointedly ignored his sister and the others. They all saw Umbridge smirk nastily at this.

Each of them was asked to answer the questions individually on a separate raised podium. The questions were as they anticipated, phrased in such a way that it paints a picture that the ministry wanted. When the group requested veritaserum to be used, they were denied reasoning that this was not a trial but only inquiry. They were also denied the use of a wand to swear oaths that what they will be saying is the truth. The stated reason being that if they truly believed what they are saying even if they were wrong, their oaths would not work properly. After the group along with Remus were questioned, the ministry representatives asked Ron to start his turn on the podium. Ron smirked at Harry before going to the platform. Umbridge took over from the ministry representative to ask Ron his questions.

Ron betrayed the group. He said Harry coerced him and Ginny to serve him as their new dark lord. He told the audience that the mudblood Granger and Potter along with Looney Lovegood masterminded the draining of Voldemort's followers and that Neville Longbottom was also a conspirator since he wanted revenge on those who tortured his parents. Granger, Lovegood, and Longbottom also wanted revenge for being ridiculed during their time in Hogwarts. He also went on to say that when Ginny and he wanted to back out, they were crucio'ed and then placed by Potter under the imperius curse. His sister was still under Potter's influence buy he got out with help from Percy and Umbridge. He also said Potter and Granger used muggle weapons to kill proper purebloods like him.

The crowd, already a bit leery of Harry because of the brutal way he dealt with the invaders, was reminded of the weapons that caused such destruction. They were also shocked at one of Harry's acknowledged best friend's revelations. Since it was his friend who confirmed the rumors, it must be true. This inquiry was going out live on the wizarding wireless. The audience who were really specifically chosen from pureblood families exclaimed their outrage and wanted the group arrested.

The group knew that they had to act fast so Harry unobtrusively gave a signal to the still invisible Winky to discretely distribute their wands. He whispered to them that he wanted them all to use shields and stunners only and that he wanted them all to trigger their portkeys now. However, the portkeys didn't work so he called on Fawkes to transport the others. Harry would cover their escape. He also signaled Dobby and Kreacher to get their charges to safety. Harry stood up and interrupted the testimony of Ron by first producing his wand and making an oath that the group has said was the truth and that Ron lied. He then produced a very strong golden translucent shield to cover the group who were flashed away by Fawkes after a short sad song. The aurors tried to disarm and arrest Harry but he just created the same shield on himself which reflected their spells back at them. Umbridge and the new minister were shouting at the aurors to kill Harry. Harry was waiting for this so he created a thick marble wall to take cover. He also summoned Umbridge to him and forcibly used legilimens on her. Her weak shields had no hope of stopping Harry. He learned what he can of the ministry's plans without turning Umbridge's so called brain into mush. He called Fawkes to get him after this.

All of this was broadcasted live on the wireless.

When Harry arrived in Grimmauld, he talked to the parents and brothers of Ron and Ginny. He told them that he did not blame them for the betrayal of their teo sons but he needed to know what they plan to do by tonight. He also told them that he was quite willing to undergo veritaserum questioning by them to prove him. He said he can get them settled out of the country or he can leave them all money so they can hide by themselves. He was willing to let them live in Grimmauld place indefinitely. As they were talking, he called on Dobby to get him the ledger which has a short list of names he allowed on the property. He deleted Ron's and Percy's names. He then left the hysterical Molly Weasley to go to the rest of the group and their families. He gave them the same choices and the same deadline. They immediately chose to leave Britain forever. Neville and Xeno both requested to visit Gringott's to have their family vaults transferred to the Salem branch. Harry told them to wait for Fawkes and he will bring them to the bank. Both wore their hoods up before being flashed by Fawkes. Harry told them to rest for a bit while he called for the private Boeing 747 plane he chartered for this possibility. They were going by muggle means to lessen the possibility of being tracked. He also got the huge luxurious plane so that the passengers can relax as much as possible for the trip. He booked the reservations under an alias of Edmond Dantes. He would just confound the pilot and stewards after they landed to show that Dantes was the only passenger on the charter. Neville and Xeno's business in the bank went off without a hitch since Harry mentioned the possibility to Ragnok so the transactions were fast tracked. He told them he had all their legal and alternate legal identities along with papers for each persona with him and that he will distribute it once they have boarded the plane.

The Weasley parents told Harry that they would like to stay in the headquarters. They receive some galleons and pounds which Harry insisted they take. He also left them reusable portkeys to a small home the Blacks owned on a beach in Brighton. Harry asked Kreacher to stay and look after them.

Fleur along with the girlfriends of Fred and George, Katie Bell and Angelina Johnson, would also like to come with them and they are asking Harry's assistance with their escape from Britain. Alicia Spinet and her family was not able to escape the prosecution of Voldemort. They died in one of the camps. It was not that hard to help them since only Katie's older brother Howard and Angelina's older sister Andrea remained from their families. Fleur on the other hand had her sister Gabrielle along with both her parents Francois and Appoline. They could flee back to France but they had wanted stay as a family even through Voldemort's short reign of terror. They have decided to join Fleur in fleeing to America. Both were healers so they can be useful. Katie's brother was a magical buildings contractor while Angelina's sister was a chef. He asked the goblins through a letter to provide two sets of identities for them along with the vault and dollars.

They should be able to fit in a residential building he had the goblins buy a few months ago in Boston the first two floors along with the basement would be used for any guests while the rest of the ten story building will be used as their temporary residence. Harry made a few changes to his plans since he had a wizard who specialized in constructing dwellings with them. He will plan on looking into buying some empty land to build a small enclave for the soon to be exiles.

The chartered plane left the country without any problems. The purebloods were a bit hesitant and Hermione was worried that they might experience some claustrophobia. It was soon laid to rest when they boarded the luxury plane. It was very roomy and plush that even the Grangers who are used to traveling in first class or business class found no room to complain. Hermione and her parents were bombarded by questions though about how it was able to fly with its huge bulk. Soon Harry gave out the identity papers for the passengers along with wallets and money purses connected to their new Gringott's accounts and what to expect when they deplaned. They discussed the living arrangements they would have when they reach Boston. A mini bus would transport them and their luggage to the brownstone apartment building. Harry asked that they refrain from using magic until they enter the new home. With the help of Hermione, they transfigured the robes of the wizards into comfortable clothes that can pass in the muggle world.

They reached the building with no problems. Harry immediately set about warding the home temporarily extending the wards of his trunk to cover the brownstone. Bill was surprised at the amount of time that it took Harry to ward the home. He just told him it was a Potter family secret. The guests chose their quarters but left the top floor for Harry to use. The women would have to shop for furniture tomorrow along with clothing and other necessities. For now, they all agreed to sleep on conjured beds by Harry and a relaxing bath. Harry had the elves put some food on the two big dining tables he conjured so they can all eat before the baths. He took aside Hermione and Emma Granger and asked them to be in charge of the group tomorrow. He also gave them each five thousand dollars cash and a black credit card from American Express connected to Gringott's.

After their respective baths and showers, Harry told Hermione, Luna, Ginny and Neville about some of what he saw in Umbridge's mind along with his plans. He saw that the ministry had people watching each of their residences which would then be burned down and then waiting for people to come out so they can be killed after resisting arrest. He also told him that on the morning after their deaths, their accounts in Gringott's would be seized. He was incensed at the way the Wizengamot did things. He told them that he will be offering each muggleborn and half-bloods like him an option for relocation to the United States along with interest free loans payable within twenty years for those who need money. He did ask the goblins to ask for oaths of secrecy before extending this offer and to keep his name out of the transactions though his money would be the one used. He also plans to shut down Hogwarts. He was the only heir left and he has claimed Voldemort's shares in Hogwarts. He will be using the money and valuables the goblins found in Voldemort's accounts to finance the relocation and loans he discussed earlier. He plans on visiting McGonagall in the coming week to tell her this. Harry would still employ the teachers in secret and let them live in Hogwarts if they wish, he only asks that they inform the incoming first years of the current situation under glamours and give them options on how to get education abroad. He would basically cripple the wizarding government of Britain. He would stop supplying food to them. True, it would cause terribly harsh collateral damage to the public. However, this was the only available option for Harry to avoid violence.

Hermione suggested that Harry use the teachers of Hogwarts to create a new school outside the jurisdiction of the Ministry. Harry told her that he would consider it but it would be on a back burner for now since it would require the permission of the government in charge of the location.

He told the group that he plans to leave Britain behind if there are no changes. The people have to do this for themselves. He had already done his part and he was done looking out for them. He would help as an individual but he would not be their personal savior whenever there's a problem.

After establishing their new home temporarily, he talked to the goblins about finding a large enough location on the outskirts of the city big enough to support several homes of modest size. He found a twenty acre tract of land about two hours by car from Boston. He put Katie's brother in charge of designing twenty homes about half a mile from the main highway. Hermione would be the one who provided Kevin with the money he needs while the elves would help him with the construction. The occupants of the brownstone

residence would give them their inputs on how they wanted their homes built. Harry told him that he wanted a simple three bedroom home for himself. One toilet and bath upstairs and downstairs along with a toilet and bath for the master's bedroom. He also specified a dine in kitchen along with a small library cum study and a sitting room for guests. He also wanted a two car garage and a basement for potions and alchemy. He proposed a communal gym with a heated pool for the residents of the enclave.

Bill who would begin work with the Salem branch of Gringott's after a month was make few ward schemes with the help of Neville and Luna who focused on Wards as one of their specific expertise.

Ginny and Gabrielle were spending time with Fleur since Bill's wife was three months pregnant. They were busy designing the baby's room.

The exiles received confirmation of the intelligence Harry got from Umbridge. All their main homes in England were burned down. There were now warrants for their arrests and Harry was not surprised that he was again undesirable number one. Mr. Weasley was terminated from his job by Undersecretary Percival Weasley. The main office of the Quibbler was also burned down. Mr. Lovegood had already removed his enchanted printing press from the UK so it was not a big loss. Has already started his magazine again in the US and hopes to find more readers here. Hogwarts is under close scrutiny by the Ministry and they had a representative there to keep them informed. Luckily Umbridge was not reappointed inquisitor. He got these reports from various sources. He and his group were being slandered by the Daily Prophet continuously.

During their second month in Boston, Harry received word from the goblins that they have been approached by the American Department of Magic that the Americans wanted to speak with Harry and his group. Harry and Neville along with Bill went to Salem and met the representatives there. They were told that they were welcome in the US and that full citizenship can be given to them and other refugees from England. Harry just needed to inform them of the identities so they can keep track. Only the minister and the head for international affairs would have access to the list. He found out that the International Confederation of Wizards planned to impose sanctions on UK due to the maltreatment of magical beings there. France and the US were the main forces behind the sanctions. Neville and eventually Hermione also would be the main liaisons for the department and the refugees.

Five months after their arrival in Boston, they moved in to their new homes in the newly dubbed Harry's Landing, Harry got word that the trickle of muggleborns and their families along with the half-bloods have become a flood. Almost eighty percent of the British non purebloods have migrated abroad. Many took advantage of Harry's helping hand and obtained loans for their relocation. Most went to progressive countries like France and the US. They did not wish to suffer in the secretly being reinstated concentration camps like they did under Voldemort.

One morning a few months after they moved into Harry's Landing, Harry was awakened by Dobby. He reported that the Weasley children were there to see him. It was only five o' clock in the morning. It turns out that Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were captured in a secret meeting for an organization against the ministry. They were being held in a concentration camp for purebloods who did not want to cooperate with the ministry. The Weasleys in America wanted to rescue them by force if necessary. Harry told them to wait a day for intelligence on how the camp was guarded. He would go today to England to do some reconnaissance. They were welcome to stay in Grimmauld place while they waited. Harry chartered a smaller G-IV to bring them to England. The twins, Charlie, Bill and Ginny along with Neville, Luna and Hermione were to accompany them. Harry was going ahead of them. He flashed to Grimmauld then sent a letter to McGonagall to meet him in the Shrieking Shack. He waited a few minutes for McGonagall to read the letter then flashed there. He was told the location of the camp. The camp was patrolled by only ten aurors loyal to the ministry. It also housed the remaining muggleborns and half-bloods. The most important news was that the prisoners were being executed at sundown today which was in five hours. Harry thanked McGonagall then apparated to a few spots before flaming home to Grimmauld.

He thought about his options. He figured he can take on the ten aurors. He was going to release the worthy prisoners in a warehouse in the magical area of France. He donned his armors and the wore a cowl much like an Unspeakable did which obscured his face and voice. He flashed to the nearest land mark of the camp then flew in his phoenix form invisibly.

He was surprised that only basic wards encompassed the camp. He was expecting heavy wards in a prison camp filled with high value targets. It was almost like stealing candies from a baby. He had all the guards down in less than five minutes. He got his info from the warden on whom he used the telepathy taught to him by Salazar the founder developed in secret and rarely used since occlumency cannot defend against it. He planted very real images of ten green clad persons assaulting the camp. He also found a separate detachment of five guards in a barracks. He also stunned these guards. He found out that there were about a hundred prisoners being guarded here. He located the storage facility filled with valuables and money confiscated from the prisoners. He then used his special telepathy to check who among the prisoners were innocent. It turned out that he didn't need to waste his time on it since the prisoners were all innocent. He cast a wide area sleeping charm then transfigured them all into marbles. He timed it to transform back into their human forms after six hours. He separated the Weasleys from the others then packed all the valuables and gold into a moleskin bag then flashed to Grimmauld to reverse the transfiguration on the Weasleys then put them into stasis. He deposited the marbles and valuables into the warehouse in France then waited until thirty minutes before they transformed back to report it to the French aurors. He waited invisibly for the authorities to arrive. When he saw the prisoners being taken care of kindly, he went back to Grimmauld. He called Hermione in Harry's Landing to call off the rescue and explained to the group via speaker phone what happened. He then undid the stasis and checked the health of the Weasley parents. Aside from some bruising which Harry took care of, he woke them up. The reunion was a happy one and e was able to convince them to go back to the Landing with him. He chartered a G-IV for them that took off in two hours. He told Kreacher to come with them but the elf refused politely saying he wished to care for the mansion and to forward news to Master Harry.

The reunion of the Weasleys in the Landing was a very happy one. It was filled with tears of joy and laughter. They later learned that all the prisoners were granted asylum by France and the valuables and gold divided amongst them so they had a good sized nest egg while they recuperate. This marked the beginning of the end of the Ministry and Harry's stay on Earth.

Time passed by in a blur. Weeks turned in months as months turned it years. The exiles made new lives for themselves. Even though within first ten years of their stay in the Landing the ministry fell from their own fault. Their problems mounted and they fell upon each other like starving dogs. None of the purebloods knew how to work. They had gold but they did not know how the muggle world works. The goblins took all their gold as fines in perfectly legal transactions because in their arrogance they did not read the fine print. One by one they starved to death. The purebloods of Britain went down not with a bang but with a slow shuddering whimper.

As bad as the things became in England, the good things became even better in the Landing. It became the hub of a new bustling community from the muggleborns and half-bloods along with a smattering of forward thinking purebloods. Hermione's suggestion became a reality. The New Hogwarts School of Magic was started. Harry with the help of the founders shifted the enormous castle to his lands in the Landing. He bought the remaining hundred acres that surrounded his land and put Hogwarts there. It became the cornerstone upon which their new community sprang from. Many shops and even a Gringott's bank opened oh the area surrounding the school.

Neville with the help of his wife Luna became premier herbologists and naturalists. They purchased the other lands surrounding Hogwarts and then started growing a forest. They collected species of flora from the Forbidden Forest and started a new one there. In the past few years it became a refuge for the animals they relocated from the Forbidden Forrest. They called it New Eden. They made it into a business by giving tours to see the natural habitats of animals where they roamed freely and not caged in like a zoo. Nevile and Luna were blessed with two children.

Hermione found love with Howard Bell. She became a transfiguration teacher of New Hogwarts. Howard made a small construction firm into the biggest construction firm in the east coast. They have three children.

Ginny eventually joined the American quidditch league with the team Salem Sorcerers as their lead Chaser and married an American. They have one child.

George married Angelina and Fred married Katie. They reopened the Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes and were great commercial successes. They now have shops in Paris and in Tokyo. Fred had twin girls while George had twin boys. Both sets of twins were as wacky as their parents.

Bill and Fleur worked at the Gringott's branch at the Landing and eventually settled down to have a sweet girl named Victoire. She had both sets of grandparents wrapped in her little finger.

Harry tried to find love and happiness like his friends. However nothing lasted beyond a few months. He morphed his appearance to age like his friends but he just stopped aging at the age of twenty five. He became restless so after a few years of helping out in the Landing, he travelled the world. He learned a lot of esoteric magics in the places he visits. He makes the headlines every few years for his saving people thing. He eventually unlocked the secrets of Flamel's journals to create his own Stone. At first his friends all took the potions but after the additional lifetime, they refused to take it again. They all had a wonderful life but they felt it was time to move on. Once Harry buried the last of the exiles, he resumed his travels. He faded out of the people's consciousness but every so often, a very powerful wizard would appear to avert disaster or to defeat a would be dark lord. Dobby and Winky went with Harry on all his adventures. Their children were fully grown and had families of their own. When Winky was dying, they tried the elixir of life and it miraculously worked. The couple were very happy to extend their lives to accompany Harry.

The main purpose of Harry's travels was to learn how to end his immortality and keep himself from getting restless and bored. He even travelled the small world inside his trunk for a decade. He was able to narrow the cause for his immortality; it was his phoenix animagus form. He also found out the truth about the Hallows. It was indeed artifacts created by a personification of death but it dis not grant immortality. It would grant him eternal youth so he will be free to enjoy his life without the pains of growing old but he can still die of mortal wounds and other life ending situations.

He kept hoping for death to visit him but he or she never came for him. He sometimes thought he might have died from fighting dark lords or powerful monsters but he would wake up the next morning without even a scar. Even getting hit by an Avada Kedavras did not work. He has also learned a lot from his travels that very kittle excited him anymore. He was an expert in almost every single branch of magic. He also tried working various jobs in the muggle world. He was a dish washer, a chef, a plumber, a construction worker even trying out being a mechanic. He became a doctor for a few years then he tried out being a classical musician which did not work out. He was also an electrician, a veterinarian, a civil engineer. He also joined the American military for a few years as a Navy SEAL. He did not last too long there since he almost got outed as a wizard and he now learned to avoid spilling blood. He joined the Peace Corps as a volunteer teacher. He loved that part of his life. He also became a sword maker in Japan. He became fluent in about twenty languages.

Finally the founders took pity on him and told him how to travel to a different dimension but he can never travel back to earth. The founders knew that being immortal simply wasn't what it was all cracked up to be and they knew this would be a balm to Harry's soul. They were only able to offer it to Harry since they had confirmed numerous times that he was indeed immortal. The ritual entails the sacrifice of one's immortality. He would lose the phoenix as his form. The founders did not know if he would be able to gain a new one after traveling to this new dimension. He would be able to keep his enormous list of powers and abilities along with the gift of the Hallows but he would lose the animal within him. Still he decided to go ahead with the ritual.

After a few months of preparation for what he might need on his journey, he called in all the elves of his trunk to let them know of the decision he made. He gave them a choice of remaining on earth and bonding with a family Harry will help them find or going with him on his next great adventure. The elves of his trunk fluctuated from as low as a fifty to as high as one hundred.

They were a species who were extremely long lived that sometimes reached as old as three hundred. However, they were not a species who easily multiplied. A couple usually only had two children in their long life time. This was the reason not every wizarding home had an elf. The elves in the trunk numbered at fifty six at the time. Thirty eight of them decided to stay while the others chose to be bonded to new families. These elves who stayed were the children of the elves Harry and Dobby found in stasis. They were very happy with Harry and they had plenty of work to do in the trunk.

Harry found nice families for the other elves while he travelled to pick up supplies. He also made a trip to Gringott's to see Ragnok's son, Silverfist for help in distributing his wealth. The descendants of his friends and co exiles received substantial amounts of galleons. The rest he left in a trust called the Potter Black Foundation. He established the foundation so that his ancestor's names would live on even though he "passed on" since he did not have any blood heirs. This foundation would manage Hogwarts and the lands surrounding it. He asked Silverfist to oversee it for him and to appoint a wizard employee of Gringott's to manage the day to day operations. He also begged Silverfist to have his descendants do the same. Silverfist studied the friend of his father for a minute then he agreed. It was a foundation which worked for the good of all magicals. Orphanages, free healthcare, free wolfsbane for werewolves, sanctuaries for sentient magical beings, these things were good things that benefited all plus it will be a press relations coup for goblins.

Of course Harry took a small part of his possessions with him. He bought plenty of things from books, brooms, potions, medicine to food, weapons, and raw materials.

He left the earth on the year 2474.

Time Dilation Equivalents

1 hr : 1 mo

12 hrs : 1 year

120 hrs : 10 years

240 hrs : 20 years


	2. Chapter 1

Harry Potter: Magical Avenger

Disclaimer:

I do not own the Harry Potter universe nor do I own the Marvel universe which is where the Avengers and other characters came from.

Authors Note:

I am apologizing in advance for any grammatical or spelling mistakes I may commit. I am not a native English speaker and I do not have a beta so please make allowances for that. I also wish to let you guys know that updates will be slow as I am also writing a Harry Potter/Game of Thrones crossover. I used the prologue of my Game of Thrones fic to jump start this crossover. I will be using that as my default jump point whenever I make a crossover of Harry Potter. I wrote that prologue for that specific purpose.

Chapter One:  
>An Englishman in New York<p>

The noise of a telephone ringing woke Harry from his deep sleep. He reached over to answer it by reflex.

"Hello?"

"Good morning, Mr. Potter. This is your eight AM wakeup call that you arranged last night. Would you like breakfast sent up to your room or would you be going to the breakfast buffet?"

"I'll think I'll order room service in a bit. Thank you."

"You're welcome, sir. Thank you for staying at the Plaza. Have a great day!"

After putting the phone back in its cradle, he looked around the hotel suite's bedroom. A check on the electronic clock says it is eight o three AM, March 23, 2005. A welcome brochure on the nightstand says that he is currently in the Plaza, New York City. There's also a wallet, a pair of key cards for his hotel room, a one way first class ticket to NYC from London and a pair of passports from the UK and the US.

He looked at his passport and saw that the details were all correct. There were many entry and exit stamps on it from different countries and he saw that he arrived from the London yesterday. A cursory look inside his wallet told him that he has quite a few US hundred dollar bills along with about seven hundred UK pounds sterling in addition to two black credit cards and valid driver's licenses in both the UK and the US. After confirming that he had the necessary identification, he ventured into his special trunk.

He got a big surprise when he checked on the elves in stasis. They were all human looking. The only noticeable difference that can be seen was their slightly pointed ears. He woke up Dobby and Winky after his medical charms were gave normal results. He conjured a large full body mirror so that the two elves can see their nee looks.

"Take a look at yourselves in a mirror! You look human now!"

"Oh this is a blessing, Master Harry!" cried Winky.

"We look like our ancestors from the days before our race was cursed!" added Dobby.

"You have been gifted by the Creator with a new life, Dobby and Winky. All the elves who accompanied Harry on this trip were transformed by Him to your ancestor's image. However, certain commandments have been placed on your people. Elves cannot harm humans and other sentient beings. Defense of one's self and master is of course permitted. The magic and life force of the elves are now tied to this trunk and to your blood line, Harry. The elves are forever tied to your blood. This is the payment for their transformation and their immortality." Helga said to them.

"Immortal?" Dobby was flabbergasted.

"Yes, elf Dobby. You are now elves and elves are immortal. No longer shall you call yourselves as house elves. Your race will always be in the prime of your life and look to like a human does in their late twenties. Elves are ten times faster and stronger than humans. However, procreation and inter species relationships between humans and elves will never happen as it would upset the balance of this world. To compensate for this, elves will not suffer from the genetic defects from inbreeding."

"I wish I was able to set you free. But I am still happy that you no longer look like house elves and that your magic has come unbound." Harry said to the elves as he hugged them.

"Dobby and Winky, you are to become the leaders of the elves. You are both kind and wise enough to do so. You also have proven yourself able many times before."

"Thank you my lady. We promise to live up to your expectations."

"Harry, come meet with us once you have removed the stasis from the others. We have much to discuss."

Harry just nodded with a smile as Helga went back to the other founders. Once he removed the stasis from the elves, he helped Dobby and Winky explain the changes to the elves. He then went to the master's study to talk to the founders.

When he arrived in his study, he saw many documents arranged on a table. The four founders were looking at Harry with a serious look.

"I take it something went wrong with the ritual?"

Rowena answered for the group. "The ritual went perfectly. However, instead of sending you to a different world, the Creator diverted you to this reality's Earth. He only said that this is an exciting reality and that you should enjoy yourself here better. He did not give any other reasons. He did say that you are not under any prophecy or destiny ordained quest."

"I suppose I can accept that. I am no longer immortal right? That is one of the reasons I went with the ritual."

"You are no longer immortal in a way that you can now die. However, you can only die if your head is decapitated and if your heart, brain, or spine is damaged beyond repair. Those are the only specific ways you or the elves can die. You will never experience the infirmity and pains of old age nor will your appearance change. Your body has also been repaired to its peak condition. All your bones and muscles are a hundred times denser than an Olympic athlete. You will still feel pain if you get hurt of course." Helga stated.

"I guess that is better than not being able to die. Are there any more surprises?"

"You still retain all the powers and advantages given to you by the powerful artifacts made by your reality's personification of Death. They will never change their allegiance even if you lose a battle. You retain the enhancements given to you by your phoenix animagus form and you are still a metamorph. If you check your magical core, it retained its size after you drained Riddle and his followers." Salazar listed the changes in Harry's powers.

"I am glad only my bone and muscle density along with the loss of my phoenix form happened. That is all the changes right?"

"My heir," Godric's serious tone unnerved Harry. "The Creator has chosen to give you some additional gifts. You have near limitless potential in telekinesis, which is really a more controlled power like a combined levitation, banishing and summoning charms, and also you are now a very powerful telepath. As you know, this is a lot like legilimency but you do not have to look at someone's eyes to read their mind, so to speak. He knows you will not abuse it and your occlumency defenses have been strengthened a hundred fold. No telepath can invade your mind. You also get a new animal form, that of a white Nemean lion. Its body is impenetrable and its claws as sharp as goblin made daggers."

"Alright. I am glad that I did get powers that will make me stand out in a crowd. I am grateful that I can still be an animagus and like my new form but I was hoping for a form that can fly." Harry whined at bit about not being able to fly.

A smirk from Salazar and a laugh from the other founders made Harry confused. "I told you he would not miss the immortality of a phoenix not would he miss the healing tears. But he would whine about not being able to fly. He gave you a final gift. You can now fly unaided by brooms or wings. Your improved body density should be able to withstand high speeds and increased pressure. I advise against trying space flight unless you wear an astronaut's suit or create a variation of the bubble head charm which would normalize pressure around your whole body and still enable you to breathe. You should work on that since it should also work under water."

"That's great! I am going to work on the modified bubble head charm soon. But for future reference, I did not whine. I just expressed my disappointment."

Helga gave him a short history of his life. "Fine. Now, those documents on the table are for you. They are all legal and valid. The Creator bent reality so most of your personal information from the previous world is correct. You are the only son of James Potter of London and Lily Evans of Connecticut. Both your parents were the only child of their parents. Both sets of grandparents lost all their family to accidents and in the World War II. The Potters died on a holiday in Ireland when you were a year old, terrorist bombing. Your parent's will gave guardianship to your British grandparents since your American grandmother passed away a year before your mother got married. You alternated Christmas holidays in London and New Haven and a month of your summer holidays with each of your grandparents. Granddad Evans passed away in 1990 while the elder Potters in 1992. Granddad Potter's solicitor friend John Spencer became your legal guardian while you were away in boarding school which was paid for by your trust fund. You graduated Oxford a year ago with a Master's degree in Modern Languages. You can read, write, and speak fluently in Russian, French, Nihongo, German, Italian, Spanish, Arabic, Greek, Mandarin and Cantonese fluently. You can also read and write in Latin and Ancient Greek."

"I am lucky that I am gifted in Languages then. Basing on the suite I am using, first class tickets and obviously expensive things in my bedroom that I am a bit well off?"

Godric snorted loudly at this. "Well of is an understatement. Your current net worth is $387 million, about a half of that is in stocks. The Potters were 'old money' and gave you about a third of your current net worth. The terms of their will sold off all their properties, leaving you with all their money. The lion's share of your net worth came from Grandpa Evans. He was an early investor of Intel and Stark Industries. He also bought a lot of stocks in Microsoft and Apple in the 1980's. His will sold everything but the stocks in those four companies. All in all, you are a very wealthy young man."

"Wow. Young and rich, I can deal with. I'm glad you left out the famous part."

Helga sympathized with Harry. "Now I have to tell you about the last big difference between your previous reality's Earth and this Earth. There are no witches and wizards here. No Diagon Alley or Hogwarts. There are a those who can access mystical energies such as Dr. Stephen Strange, the Sorcerer Supreme of this dimension. You can choose whether or not to meet with him. The lack of your kind of witches and wizards does not present a problem aside from nostalgia since you did want to leave that world behind. All the potions ingredients and magical creatures can be found in your trunk world anyway and your library here is bigger and better than the combined libraries of Hogwarts, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang combined. You have already surpassed Dumbledore and Riddle in magical learning and power."

"When you put it like that, I guess it's not so bad. Anything else you can tell me?"

"In a few years, this world will be ready for a higher form of warfare. Aliens and other powerful beings may come here. Earth should be able to defend itself with the help of many gifted individuals. These individuals have powers that are varied and numerous. Some deliberately through science, some from accidents and finally some are genetic mutations. They are collectively called metahumans. It is your choice if you wish to remain anonymous or you can join them in defense of this world. Remember, there is no fate or destiny at work here, it will be purely based on your decisions."

Godric and Salazar both laughed at the end of Helga's statement. "Godric's heir? Not get involved? I tell you that he cannot just simply watch as events happen."

"As much as it pains me to say that Salazar is right, I doubt you, my heir, can stand by and let the helpless die needlessly."

"I guess. I never quite let go of my saving people thing, as Hermione called it. I think I shall see to the elves then get some food. I will need some help practicing these new powers."

He activated the time dilation field inside the trunk world to eat and practice his new powers. He spent months inside the trunk to completely master his powers and new abilities. When he got out of the trunk, it was almost two in the afternoon. He called the concierge to ask for a good realtor in NYC.

Harry got dressed and went to a late lunch at his favorite. Katz's Deli had the best pastrami sandwich, he was glad this reality didn't mess with it. While he ate, he went over a list of what things he needed. He decided that he was going to splurge a bit, playing the role of a trust fund baby. Harry figured young eccentric millionaire would play out better than a young antisocial recluse.

-buy a good mobile phone and laptop; should have brought some from his old reality  
>-buy an apartment near central park; top floor or penthouse so he has easy access to the roof<br>-buy a nice reliable car for NYC and an SUV for retreat property  
>-look for a job or a hobby; something to do<br>-ask Darry the elf furniture maker to help him with furnishing said apartment  
>-buy a large secluded property for the elves and as a getaway home<p>

When he got back to the Plaza, the concierge was nice enough to help him buy a Nokia 8800 phone and a top of the line HP laptop. Both should be delivered that same afternoon. He also got the number of a Mercedes Benz dealer and an appointment for tomorrow. The little black Centurion card really did open quite a few doors. When the concierge dropped of his new phone and laptop, he gave the man a $100 tip. He needed all the help he can get.

The next day, he had breakfast in one of the hotel restaurants and got a cab to the dealership. Harry was not really dressed to impress so when he tried to get the attention of a sales rep, he was got a raised eyebrow. When he read the surface thoughts of the man, he found out that the man thought he was just wasting his time on Harry. Harry dismissed the man and got a lady rep that was nicer and a rival of the previous rep to spite him. He gave his black card to the lady and he was instantly rewarded with shock from the snooty rep and smug satisfaction from the woman. He chose the current silver CLS model. For a small fee, he can have it delivered in two days' time. He planned on staying at the Plaza until he got an apartment so he agreed.

He stopped for lunch before going to the realtor. This time the lady realtor was nicer. She didn't even bat an eye when Harry said that he wanted a penthouse with at least a good view of Central Park if he cannot get a place beside or near the said park. He lucked out because a penthouse property just went on the market. The celebrity owner was moving to Paris, so it was a rushed sale. It was on 5th Avenue with a big roof deck overlooking the park. Six bedrooms, six and a half baths, combination study and library and a kitchen / dining room and a private elevator from the lobby which had two 24 hour doormen at all times. It also came with its own reserved parking space. A 'steal' for $37 million. He got a tour right away and a meeting with the coop board tomorrow evening. Harry loved the roof deck and he was sure Winky will love the brand new kitchen.

While was there he did a bit of shopping. He needed to impress them. He bought a new outfit and shoes from Hermes and a nice watch from Cartier.

When he got back to the hotel, a mysterious message was waiting for him. He wondered how anyone knew where to reach him as it was only his second day in this reality.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Potter. A message was left for you by a Mr. Peter Turnbull. He left his mobile number and email address so you can contact him," the concierge handed Harry the information she was talking about. "The Mercedes Benz dealership also called. The lady, a woman named Helen Young, said that they were able to squeeze you into the queue so your new car should be delivered here tomorrow morning at nine."

"Thank you. Could you possibly arrange for a place to park the car tomorrow?"

"It shouldn't be a problem, Mr. Potter. I will reserve a slot for your new car."

"Brilliant. I am glad you're here to help us poor Brits. Have a good evening, Philip."

While in the elevator, he pondered who this man is. He didn't know anyone at all in this world. However, he decided a phone call shouldn't cause any problems.

A man with a deep voice answered on the third ring.

"This is Peter Turnbull."

"Good afternoon, Mr. Turnbull. My name is Harry Potter and I understand that you left a message for me to contact you?"

"Ah, yes, Mr. Potter. I work for the UN and I am a good friend of one of your professors in Oxford, Professor Smythe. I mentioned that we have two openings for translators. He mentioned your name. He went on and on about your gift of tongues."

"I see. He was my adviser during my final year there. He recommended me then?"

"Yes, you can say that. He told me that I would be a 'bloody wanker' if I did not at least attempt to recruit you before the Foreign Office or the State Department got you. We had a few drinks in that pub near his flat. You know how he swears like a sailor when he has a few drinks on him. Would you be interested in the spot?"

"I was actually going to look for a job in a week or so after I move in to my new apartment. Sure, I am interested. But how did you know how to find me? Last time I talked to Professor Smythe I was not even thinking of coming to New York."

"I had a few contacts run your name. Before I can offer you a job, I had to do a bit of preliminary checks. Security clearance will be required as you might be hearing some sensitive information, you understand that don't you? Anyway, your name popped up when you came in from Heathrow. A few calls in the more upscale hotels and I found you. So, can you come in tomorrow, say one in the afternoon?"

"It should be possible. It wouldn't take the entire afternoon would it? I'm afraid I've a meeting with the coop chairman of the building I am trying to get into so I will be having dinner with them tomorrow evening."

"It should not take more than three hours. Please bring a copy of your CV tomorrow if possible. I will send you the details after this call. You will need your passport or your driver's license when you present yourself at the Security Office. Would you be needing a car pass?"

"Yes, I should have my car by that time."

"Good. Have a good afternoon and I shall see you tomorrow, Mr. Potter."

"A pleasant day to you too, Mr. Turnbull." He then pressed the end button on his phone.

'I suppose working for the UN should be alright.' He mused to himself.

He clipped the Do Not Disturb sign on his door and then activated the anti muggle ward on his trunk.

He had a few words with Dobby then he activated the time dilation for the trunk world.

"Looks like I might be working as a translator for the United Nations. The muggle version of the ICW as a translator."

"Imagine that, a job prospect on your second day back," smiled Salazar meaningfully.

"Yes. It should be interesting. Meet new people and maybe travel some more."

"My heir, you really cannot help yourself. Second day back and you might be working in a government body already," commented Godric.

"Remember, Harry. You are walking your own path now. Whatever decisions you make are yours. Remember that as you choose this road to walk on," Rowena reminded Harry. "You may be presented with opportunities like this, but you can always say no."

"I know, I know. It's not like I am going to be a soldier or anything. I'll be a translator doing a desk job. I do not see myself as an academic doing research my entire life. That would be too boring."

"Godric's blood really tells on you. Never could he resist a bit of action." Helga smiled fondly at Harry and Godric.

"Anyway, I plan on modifying the bubble head charm and practice a bit more with my new abilities before I go out into the muggle world again tomorrow. I might read up on the current events since World War II. Oh, I need to talk to Darry. I plan on enlisting his help to make custom furniture for my new apartment. I have a meeting with the coop chair tomorrow evening during dinner. I have to make a reservation at the Oak Room; maybe Philip the concierge can help me."

Harry worked on these tasks for the next six months inside the trunk. By the time he got out, it was nearing midnight.

He soaked in the wonderful tub for an hour before he went to bed for a good night's sleep.

He woke up early to run in the park. It brought back fond memories of his previous world when he would run around the Black Lake in Hogwarts before breakfast with Hermione, Luna and Neville. When he returned to the hotel, he remembered to ask the on duty concierge, Andrew, for a good table at the Oak Room for his guests later.

As expected his new car arrived on time. He convinced the lady dealer to join him for breakfast. He then brought her back to the dealership while he gave the CLS a test drive. With nothing to do until after lunch he drove around the borough to familiarize himself with the neighborhood.

Harry was confident going in to the clinic. Granted, he was a bit rusty on some of the languages but from his experience, his occlumency would bail him out.

Ten minutes before his appointment, he has parked his car in the visitor's secure parking and was riding the elevator to the fifth floor for his interview.

Four men and three women were waiting for him. A tall black man with a balding head and a well-trimmed goatee spoke first.

"Good afternoon. I am Peter Turnbull and these are some of the people from our foreign languages section. They would be assessing your competency in German, Italian, French, Nihongo, Spanish and Mandarin. If you pass, I will be assessing you for competency in Arabic which my area of specialization. Short tests will be given to gauge your written and reading comprehension in the various languages after the oral interviews from each of the specialists. He was shown to a room where he was given a one on one interview for about fifteen minute each then thirty minutes for each written exam.

He blew all the interviewers away. He finished each of the written exams within ten minutes. Peter found out that he was impressed because Harry spoke Arabic like a native Saudi. Harry didn't tell him that he lived in Saudi Arabia for three years studying the magics of ancient Arabia.

Pending an in depth security check, Harry should be given a contract to work directly with the head of the Security Council's office. Peter or Pete as he asked Harry to call him told him that the background checks should just be a formality as he has already given a very in depth assessment by friends in the FBI and Scotland Yard. Unofficially, of course.

Harry went back to the hotel for two hours while he waited for his next meeting.

A tall distinguished looking man in his late sixties and two women of the same age with similar elegant air about them met Harry in the Oak Room.

"Good evening, Mr. Potter. I am Dr. Wallace Rutherford. I am the chairman of the coop. This is my wife Elizabeth," pointing to the woman dressed in simple but tasteful dress, "and this is Diane Drexler, she owns the floor below the penthouse."

"Good evening, ladies, Dr. Rutherford. I am the prospective buyer of the penthouse of your building."

After some small talk while they waited for their food, he impressed the two women with his language skills. It turns out that Mrs. Drexler also studied in Oxford and was an avid gardener while Mrs. Rutherford was a former chef. Dr. Rutherford was happy to let his wife speak for him. The discussion became about cooking, gardening and Harry's time in Oxford. Luckily, he was able to recall information about his past. He did not know where those came from. He made a mental note to ask the founders later. By the time they got to dessert, they were all on a first name basis. Harry has thoroughly charmed the older trio. He promised to email Liz his recipe for treacle tart while he will be promised to give Diane some of the secret fertilizer (dragon dung) he uses. The trio all thought Harry was a remarkable young man with a bright future ahead of him, a good replacement for the rude actress.

When he got back to the suite, he immediately conversed with the founders.

"When I was having dinner, we got into a conversation about my years in Oxford and my youth. I was able to answer them without any problems. What I am curious about is that I am confident that the answers I gave were truthful."

Rowena gave him an uncharacteristic smirk. "Of course you gave them the truth. As far as the world is concerned, people knew you and they can attest to that because they did know you. You were in their lives and they can remember facts about your conversations, mannerisms and your personality because they actually lived it. You were also given a set of memories from the time you were young until the second you woke up on your first day here. It all buried deep in your subconscious and also located in your mindscape as memories of Harry Potter, Master of Modern Languages."

"Okay. You left it out on purpose didn't you? And won't it give split personality or something?"

"Yes we left it out of your briefing. Life gets boring if you already know it all. And don't be daft. The Creator set it up so you will not mix up the two sets of memories!"  
>Salazar was laughing aloud now while the other three just smiled at Harry's embarrassed smile.<p>

The next few days settled down to a comfortable routine. He got up early then he ate breakfast in the coffee shop of the hotel. He would spend the rest of the day touring New York on foot. The realtor and his bank were able to quickly close the deal on the penthouse. The previous owner has already left for Paris so Harry was able to make a few adjustments and minor repairs to the penthouse with the help of Dobby and Darry. Darry and Harry spend a lot of time measuring and planning the interior design of the house with Winky's expert guidance.

By the time Harry moved in, the penthouse looked like a turn of the century mansion although the furniture was not too gaudy. Rosy the elf who loves gardening managed to turn half the rooftop into a beautiful garden which got Diane green with envy.

Harry did shop for some modern conveniences like TV's and a home entertainment system along with light fixtures. He was glad that he had long ago learned how to use rune to absorb the ambient magic of Harry and the elves so that electronics would not be fried when they used magic. Harry also taught the elves how to draw their magic into their core. It made their magic less volatile to electronics and also makes their magical presence almost undetectable if one isn't used to their magic.

When Harry was asked by Pete to come in during a formal fund raiser for UNICEF, he got to meet the Secretary General of the UN along with the current head of the UN Security Council. He was able to impress them both with his skills and how Harry handled the formalities. Little did they know that Harry got Neville who learned from Dame Longbottom herself on how to act like a lord. Besides, he was British; he knew how to be polite. He also got a crash course on courtly etiquette and decorum from the ghosts of Hogwarts.

He was given a month to settle his personal affairs like moving in to his new apartment and acclimatizing himself to New York and to read through the various briefing books he would need to learn along with more protocols for dealing with powerful people and heads of state.

The first year and a half of Harry in NYC and working for the UN went by fast. Although he was already a good shot with a pistol, he pretended to let himself be trained during his off hours by the security officers he befriended. He got to know them after Pete introduced him to the group in an office party in his second month of working. He became well known for bringing excellent bar-chow to parties. Harry also demonstrated his proficiency in Aikido and Judo which he officially learned from private classes in Oxford. He was recognized as not the average rich desk weenie. He also bought a small 100 acre vineyard in Napa Valley for the elves. He purchased it from the same realtor he used to buy the penthouse. Harry warded it so thoroughly the elves say they French chateau style mansion had its own visible aura after he finished.

He sold some gold he created to refiners so that he can recoup the money he spent on his two residences and the nice car he bought. He asked Tobin the elf who specialized in smithing to mint them first into Spanish conquistador era coins and bars. No questions were asked about where got them due to discrete low powered compulsion charms. This source of income he deposited into Swiss banks to hide the trail of money since Swiss banks were notoriously tight lipped when it comes to their depositors' privacy.

Two months before Harry's second anniversary on the job, an event happened that brought Harry on to the radar of SHIELD.

(A/N: Although in reality the UN Security Council changes its president every month and is chosen from every member nation, in this reality, they are chosen every three years from the five permanent Security Council members. The UN Security Council is from now on abbreviated to UNSC; the president will be referred to simply as the head.)

The US ambassador to the UN, who is also the head of UNSC, was hosting a benefit for the UN Peacekeepers. It was also the eve of the vote to send peacekeepers to the Sudan. The ambassador was one of the main supporters of the peacekeeping mission to the Sudan so tensions were high.

As threats have always been part and parcel of the job, Julie Cross, a still young and vibrant woman of thirty seven with brown hair and a slender build, barely gave a threat to take the ambassador hostage any credence. The threat has been thought to originate from dissidents from Sudan who did not wish for UN peacekeepers to come to Sudan. The threat has not yet been confirmed. Since the ambassador was still unmarried and had no children, she did not have anyone at risk hence her brave and fool hardy stance of having just one bodyguard following her during the event. She reasoned that there were enough security forces scattered in the venue from the UN's own security arm and from the various dignitaries invited.

Harry noticed three waiters acting suspiciously. They were noticeably nervous although they hid it well. They were also less proficient at their job; they were unable to pour drinks properly, and they were sweating heavily even in the centralized air conditioning of the place.

He motioned to Robert Franklin, the ambassador's bodyguard, to keep an eye on the three waiters. Harry noticed them split up after whispering for a moment. He nudged Robert, who also happened to be his pistol marksmanship instructor, who acknowledged his warning. Five minutes later, Harry noticed two of the waiters approaching the US ambassador's table. He palmed the knife he used for the meal and discretely cast a temporary sharpening charm on the knife. He saw one of the waiters give a nod to someone behind them.

A Glock was pressed behind the ambassador's back. To her credit, she did not lose her composure. She tried to communicate with them calmly to stall for time.

"Who are you and why are you doing this?" asked Cross.

The one behind her answered menacingly. "We are the Guardians of Sudanese Freedom! We will not allow you to take control of our country!"

Many of the guests have escaped while some were forced to take cover wherever they can. Harry noticed that they were being isolated from the security forces.

"We demand that a helicopter bring us to the nearest airport. We also require a plane to bring us to Sudan or we will as many as possible."

Harry made eye contact with Rob then said, "YOU LEFT us no choice. I am RIGHT."

This made no sense to Cross and the terrorists but it made sense to Rob. After a silent count of 1-2-3, Harry swiftly elbowed the terrorist behind Cross with his right elbow and used a modified unlocking charm with his left hand to disassemble the gun behind Cross. He threw the knife he palmed with his right hand then positioned his body to cover the ambassador's front. The knife went deep into one of the left hand side terrorist's eye while Rob tackled the one on the right. A shot was fired by the terrorist with only one eye left due to muscle reflex which was fortunately shot downwards. The bullet impacted on the floor. Harry swiftly kicked the gun away from the dying enemy. He also landed a kick to the bits of the terrorist he elbowed. Security forces immediately entered the hallway to secure Cross and bind the terrorists.

Less than six minutes elapsed from the time the ambassador was taken hostage.

What followed was four hours of debriefing which consisted of Harry and Rob repeating themselves to various intelligence agencies. They explained that they usually gamed out what if scenarios. They also discussed a few ways they can communicate plans openly, like what they did against the two terrorists.

Steps were taken to minimize Harry's heroics. Officially, Rob and Harry were credited with the takedown of the terrorists with the roles reversed. Harry taking down the right side terrorist and Rob took down the other two using Harry's methods.

When Harry got home to the penthouse, he immediately teleported to his Napa home to reassure the elves and the founders. They just shook their heads at Harry's people saving thing.

Walking into the office the following Monday, Harry got respectful nods from the security guys and a loud applause when he went to his office in the translator's section. A bit after lunch, he was called into the Ambassador's office.

"Good afternoon, Harry. Have you had lunch yet?"

"Not yet, Ma'am. I was just finishing up some reports when I was asked to report to your office."

"Good. You can join my friend and I for lunch. I'm buying. Consider it a small token of my appreciation for saving my life."

"No thanks necessary, Ambassador. Anyone would do what I did."

"As you Brits say, bollocks! No one else stuck their neck out when it happened. I just feel bad that Security is taking most of the credit for your actions."

"They are good guys. Rob, I mean Robert Franklin was the one who taught me how to shoot. Besides, I'd hate to be in the limelight."

"Let me prepare you a bit before we go meet my friend. He's a patriot and like you, he's willing to risk much for the security of others. He's a bit intense, gruff and paranoid but his heart is in the right place. Remember what the first qualities are so that you can ignore the other descriptions I said."

They went to the executive dining room for the higher ranked officials of the UN. Ambassador Cross entered first. The steward brought them to a booth in the back of the room. After they were comfortably situated, Harry studied the man across from him. The man in the dark suit had a receding hairline and thinning brown hair. He was of medium build and had an unremarkable face, someone who can blend in anywhere.

"Good afternoon, Madam Ambassador, Mr. Potter"

"Good afternoon too Agent Coulson. Harry, this is Phil Coulson. He works for the UN's security arm. We would like to talk to you about further training."

"Good afternoon Mr. Coulson. Please call me Harry. Why do I need training? For what? Not that I am opposed to it, per se."

Agent Coulson handled the questions. "Harry, please call me Phil. Madam Ambassador sees potential in you Harry, and I agree. We were appraised by Mr. Franklin regarding your excellent skills with a handgun. He sang your praises. You are also an expert in unarmed combat from your training in Aikido and Judo. You are also in great physical condition according to your annual physical. Yet people underestimate you because of your kind and unassuming nature. Your placement in the head of the UNSC's office serves as an extra security there that would be unknown to everybody else. The training we are offering is a way to build upon your current skill set. We would train you in undercover work and counter-intelligence. We would also work with you weapons proficiency."

"That is interesting. Am I correct in my understanding that I would be retained in my current posting and nothing else is required? Just a safety net in the office?"

"If you are interested in other skills, we can help with that too. Do you have any request?"

"I am currently learning Egyptian Hieroglyphics and some rune based writings from the Viking era but I think I have that covered on my own. I would really like to learn how to blow things up. Training on explosives and how to disarm them. Blowing things up would be a bonus," Harry gave them a childlike smile.

"That can be arranged. Maybe I can join you in blowing up stuff," Phil gave a small laugh at Harry's expression. "I think you training would be for just a few months. Longest part maybe on the explosives. You will be on personal leave of two months. It will be spent doing physical training for part of the morning while the rest of the day will be used solely for the explosives training. After the two month leave, you will work here part of the day while we train you on the other stuff. We should be finished within another three to four months."

"I think my office can spare you for two months, Harry. Let's say you are needed in Connecticut to sort out a mess with your inheritance. We'll cover your half days as refresher training on protocol etc with the US State Department."

"When do we start?"

Meanwhile, on the SHIELD Helicarrier:

A beautiful dark haired woman with a lithe body entered the office of her boss. "Director Fury, Agent Coulson and the ambassador has finished their lunch with the linguist. Coulson reports that Mr. Potter has agreed to the training. He also said that the linguist requested training on explosives."

A bald, powerfully built black man with an eye patch turned from the window he was looking out of. "Good. This Potter is a good candidate for a position in SHIELD. We'll see how he does on his training."

"The surveillance videos we have from the hostage situation is inconclusive. He used on hand to disassemble a Glock in the hands of a terrorist. I do concede that based on the other video recordings on his unarmed combat and pistol training, he is pretty good. I think he might be holding back in his hand to hand training."

"I agree. That will be all, Agent Hill. Thank you."

As Agent Maria Hill left the room, Director Fury mused to himself silently. 'You are a mystery, Harry Potter. Something tells me you have a part to play in this world. I will keep an eye on you.' He smiled inside at his small joke.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 – New Friends and Allies

Harry Potter: Magical Avenger

Disclaimer:

I do not own the Harry Potter universe nor do I own the Marvel universe which is where the Avengers and other characters came from.

Author's Note:

I apologize for the slow updates. I write this fic while I commute to and from my job using my battered and weary iPod Touch's Notes application. I am making this up as I go along and right now I am thinking on expanding this fic's scope to include superheroes and villains from various Marvel titles. I apologize if you only wish to read about the Avengers. Thanks for your support and reviews. Lastly, to those who sent private messages to me asking why Harry, being from the future and all that, did not bring with him advanced tech, my main reason is that while he was an engineer in the past, he did not really foresee being sent into another earth and, in my thinking, he primarily went to other magical communities seeking a cure for his immortality problem, not to assimilate tech around the world. I see this Harry as more of an end user guy, wherein he understands the way tech worked in his previous world but not enough to replicate it. 

It was a clear April evening and Harry was standing on his penthouse's roof deck, reflecting on the events of the last couple of months. He has finished his SHIELD training which was a bit grueling and intense two months. His instructors were very impressed at his dedication and desire to learn as much as possible. He was able to combine his demolitions training along with the undercover and counterintelligence into the two months he was on 'leave' since he really did not have much to improve on in the physical fitness and hand to hand combat areas. From what he was able to glean from his trainers' surface thoughts; they were all very positive in their reports to director of SHIELD, Nick Fury. They recommended that Harry Potter should be recruited into the organization if at all possible. While Harry was pretty chuffed at the glowing reports of his instructors, he was still undecided and frankly a bit leery of joining the agency. He has had enough of shadowy organizations for ten lifetimes. He knew that at some point, an offer would be made for him to join SHIELD, most likely in the next few weeks. He resolved to at least hear them out before turning them down gently. Harry went to bed after finishing his dram of single malt without reaching a definite solution to his SHIELD dilemma.

April 2007

Harry has been back from his personal leave for a few days and he has just finished getting caught up with the paperwork which has piled up in his absence when he got called into his boss's office. The black man with only one eye he saw in his trainer's surface thoughts was in the office with the ambassador. He waited a few seconds after knocking twice before entering the room.

"You wanted to see me, ma'am?"

"Yes, Harry. My guest and I were just discussing you. This is Director Nicholas Fury of SHIELD. Apparently, your instructors were very complimentary with their reports regarding your performance in training that they recommended you for recruitment."

Nick Fury then shook Harry's offered hand. "Your instructors were very impressed, Mr. Potter. I have known them for about a decade and believe me when I say that they rarely lavish such praise on anyone."

"Harry, my posting as the head of the UNSC will end on the thirty first of December this year. As you probably know by now that it will either be the Russian or Chinese ambassador who will replace me in this office. Of course you are welcome to stay in your current posting though I know you do not really get along with either of them. A person of your gifts will not really have a problem getting employed if you decide to leave this office. Indeed, I am willing to add you to my personal staff. I also know that the guys at the State Department would like to hire you if you wish to leave the UN altogether. Director Fury has another proposition for you."

"Mr. Potter, SHIELD is a multinational agency as such your talent with languages along with the competence you have in other disciplines and your security clearance make you an ideal part of the agency. I am here to offer you a place in SHIELD if you do decide to leave the UN. You will initially be assigned to Agent Coulson so he can guide you in becoming a SHIELD agent, think of it as an apprenticeship program. Your compensation and benefits package will be the same if you join us. We are prepared to hire you immediately or after the ambassador's term is finished."

Harry was silent for a moment before looking at Julie Cross and replying. "I appreciate the offers you have presented me, Ambassador, it means a lot to me that you took the time to do this," Harry then looked at Director Fury, "Director Fury, you have my thanks for taking time from your undoubtedly busy schedule to offer me a job. I am very much tempted to sign up with SHIELD but I have to take my time to consider all my options but I can tell both of you that I plan on remaining in my current post until December."

"What are your plans between now and then, Mr. Potter?" Fury was thankful that the ambassador asked that question.

"I am just planning on relaxing some as the last few months were a bit hectic. I might give fishing a try," Harry said with a laugh.

"Very well, Mr. Potter. I will leave the offer on the table, so to speak. Here is my card if you have any questions. I will need your answer at least two weeks before the Ambassador leaves this office."

"I'll let you know, Director. Before I leave for the weekend, will there be anything else I can you with, ma'am?"

"No, Harry. Thanks for staying until the end of my term. I was relieved that I did not have to look for anyone else. It would have been hard to hire anyone capable for a temporary job. Have a safe drive home." With that, he left Cross and Fury to get his things and go home. Napa is calling him.

November 2007

Harry has been busy during the last few months of Ambassador Cross in office as she tried to solve as many problems as possible before she left office. The months have been productive even if they were both running ragged.

In what little spare time Harry had, he modified his old battle suit made from basilisk hide. He improved the durability of his armor and upgraded it to withstand pressure better when in outer space. He found out that when he was flying in the upper atmosphere while testing his improved bubble head charm that it was a bit constricting to move due to the pressure so he had to upgrade it since it was not really made for spaceflight.

He spent a few months in the trunk to practice his telepathy and telekinetic powers, he had neglected training it since he had mastered legilimency long before and his impregnable occlumency barriers kept the thoughts of others away so he was not assaulted with the thoughts of others. Harry also substituted his telekinesis with banishers, levitation and summoning charms. He now trained his telepathy on the elves and other animals in his trunk before using it while doing his day job. As much as he wanted to avoid it, he had to use it on other people to master it as animals and elves were really different from a human mind. He was able to hone his telepathy by varying its use from a single man in his building to city wide searching for a specific thought. At first, the city wide searches almost overwhelmed him but due to his improved occlumency, he was able to overcome the flood of thoughts he received.

He also made two bracers made of goblin silver, decorated with the likeness of his lion form. The bracers can release hundreds of small needle projectiles made from the same goblin silver coated in various potions that simulated the effects of a dreamless sleep potion on his right bracer while his left bracer contained the needles dipped in basilisk venom for the really evil things that cannot be redeemed. His telekinetic powers would guide and propel these projectiles at high speeds to his target. He was now very proficient with telekinesis that he no longer needed to make any gestures to control objects or to erect extremely powerful shields that can withstand even a tomahawk missile targeted on him. The US navy still has an open investigation on why one of its ships launched a tomahawk into the middle of the Pacific Ocean. He has also learned to hold an invisible telekinetic shield projected just a centimeter above his skin for hours; he tested this on himself using three heavy machine guns he enchanted to fire on him while he was seated on a stool reading books on genetics, computer programing and electrical engineering. He killed two birds with one stone as he was a bit weak on those fields of study.

On the last week of November, he was once more called into his boss's office. Ambassador Cross was not alone; Director Fury was once again with her. After the usual greetings and handshakes were exchanged, the ambassador quickly got to the point.

"Well, Harry, we assume that you can guess what this meeting is about. Have you decided on what your plans are starting January?"

"Yes, Madam Ambassador. I have decided to resign from the diplomatic corps and pursue other things. Director Fury, while I am grateful for the extra training that I was able to receive from SHIELD, I'm afraid I must also decline your admittedly very interesting offer. I wish to go on a sabbatical for a few months while I figure out my next move. The last few months were a bit hectic although I have enjoyed it. I might enroll in flight school to earn a pilot's license and maybe even buy my own plane." Harry smiled a bit at the two to soften the blow of rejecting their offers.

Director Fury had a small frown when he heard the negative response to his job offer. Harry's response about flying did give him an opening on giving it a last try to tempt him on signing up with his agency. "I see. I understand your position, Mr. Potter. I just want you to keep in mind that if you do decide to become a SHIELD agent, we can easily manage to have you trained on advanced helicopters and fighter jets in the US navy. It would be better than flying a private plane."

"That is a tempting and generous offer, Director. I must still decline." Harry gave another smile at Fury's blatant offer.

"I had to give it another try. I just didn't wish to see your potential wasted. I wish you luck on your vacation. If you change your mind, you can call my office." Fury stood and shook his and the ambassador's hand. "I'll be going now as I cannot be away from the office for too long."

"Have a good day, Nicholas. I will be talking to Harry for a bit more." When Fury has left the room, Ambassador Cross turned to Harry with a small smile. "I figured you would take the job in SHIELD. It is an exciting life for a young single man."

"I think I've had enough excitement for now. I plan on enjoying a bit of downtime once you step down from this office. Napa is calling me home."

"I heard you had a vineyard there. I never have enough time to take you up on your invitation to go there. Peter Turnbull and the others say that your chateau there is very beautiful and that the staff there is very nice."

"They went there for a few days while I was undergoing training. You guys have an open invitation to visit. I have five guest houses there that you can choose from."

"I might just take you up on your offer in the coming months. Did the State Department try and offer you a job there?"

"I actually got a call from the Secretary's Chief of Staff a few weeks ago. I got offered a position on the Sec State's staff. I of course politely declined. The man had the gall to say that he will blackball me from any job in the current administration if i turn him down."

"He has always been an ass. His father is the party chairman in the secretary's home state; I doubt would be in that position if he didn't have his father's connections in the party."

"Well, I told him to shove his offer up his ass, politely of course. I am glad my family left me with a little money to give me the ability to choose my own path."

"Yeah Harry if you can call a couple hundred million dollars a little money. Do you really plan on buying a plane?" The ambassador just shook her head at Harry's understatement.

"I might if I enjoy flight school and I am considering it since I fly to the vineyard at least once a month on a weekend. Besides, it's your fault. We always fly on a Gulfstream for foreign trips and I got spoiled." Harry said with a laugh.

"Air travel in the last few years really has become so stressful. Anyway, if you do change your mind, give Fury a call. We need more good men like you Harry."

"You are making me blush, Julie. I'm going back to my office."

During his last month in the UN, Harry began plotting the next few months. He was torn between starting a business or just traveling around the world while waiting for the 'exciting times' that was mentioned by the Founders when he first arrived in this world. He decided to wait until January to decide. In the meantime, he would just concentrate on his day job.

January 2008

Harry was bored. The last two weeks of December was filled with parties in the UN due to the Christmas holidays and the farewell party he got in the office. He spent New Year's eve with his officemates and New Year's day in Napa with the elves.

They have kept the trunk under maximum time dilation as much as possible to build up a population. Harry asked the elves to have a school for at least basic education so that the elves can go out into the world if they wished and blend in as there were now hundreds of young elves in the trunk. They have formed a small town community that have schools, hospitals and guilds that specialized in various crafts and were quickly growing. Harry did find out from the founders that while the elves will have a small population boom to repopulate the trunk world, once they reach the three thousand mark, magic would slow down the birth rate to about a dozen per year. Even before they were cursed to become house elves, the elves really had a small population and a very low birth rate. Right now the elves number only a thousand.

Due to the extensive use of the trunk's time dilation effects, Harry's warehouses were filled with grains, fruits, milk, wines and other drinks along with natural fibers like silk and cotton. However, what astonished Harry the most was the production of the mines and greenhouses dedicated to potion ingredients. He had tons of precious metals and many trunks filled with gemstones and other crystals while he also found that there were enough potions ingredients to brew potions for the entire magical population of Earth in his former reality for a year. This got Harry thinking about the possibilities open to him.

Harry called Dobby and Winky to him so they can have one of their conferences with the Founders.

"I have been inspecting the storerooms of our trunk world but instead of rooms I found whole warehouses full of raw materials. Do your fellow elves not use them at all?" Harry asked his head elves.

"We do use them, Harry, however, we only require small amounts compared to the amounts we produce or grow. We only use about twenty percent of the food we grow and about fifteen percent of the raw materials we obtain yearly. The elves like to work so we continue to do our work and preserve what we do not use. The miners are even grumbling a bit because we limit the amount of time they spend mining." Dobby answered Harry.

"You do realize that this trunk world is magical Harry, don't you? Any natural resource of this world replenishes automatically one it reaches a certain point. Everything is regulated by magic; from the number of its inhabitants like the elves and the animal kingdom to the mines and other resources here. It is not like the outside world wherein the resources are finite," commented Rowena.

"Does it mean that even if we mine the mountains for metals, gems and other things it would not run out? I can let the elves do what they want?"

"Yes, Harry. It will simply replenish itself. You can use them up as much as you want and it will not run out," Godric laughed at the dumbstruck expressions of the elves and Harry.

"Let me remind you that anything naturally found in Earth can be found here," Salazar advised Harry.

"I can solve the world's problems with food and water if that is the case," mused Harry.

"If that is your wish, then you can do it. You just have to find a way to explain where you get your resources," cautioned Helga.

"The modern world has become such a complicated place that you need paperwork for everything now. Government tracks where things come from and where everything goes. Remember that if you wish to use this trunk world's resources in massive quantities," explained Salazar.

"Hmm, that does pose a problem. I do not wish to resort to compulsion charms or bribes to achieve it. If I do overcome that, people might become lazy if I solve the food and water problems. Maybe I can find some other way to off load the excess produce of the elves. Anyway, that is one of the things I can devote my time to. Do you think the elves would mind if I use the surplus to sell on the outside world?"

Winky and Dobby just laughed. Once they finished laughing, Winky answered Harry. "Harry, the elves would be thankful if you take it all and leave us just the amounts we use for our community. We love to work and if you empty the storehouses, we will have space to put our new produce in. Some were already thinking of petitioning us to talk to you about it, especially the elves that like to fish and those who wants to raise livestock."

"I have to look into things before we do anything. What about the potion ingredients we have? I saw a lot of warehouses filled with those things too."

"It would be harder to use them all up unless you let the elves brew potions that you can sell outside the trunk world," commented Salazar.

"True. The regulations of various countries are very stringent when it comes to pharmaceuticals. If the elves want to try and make potions, maybe you two can let them brew as many as they want and place them into enchanted containers with space expansion and preservation spells on them."

"What potions do you want the elves to have? We have elves that have studied the potion books in the library just itching to brew more than what we use," asked Dobby.

"Let us concentrate on the general potions and pastes Madame Pomfrey used in the Hospital Wing of Hogwarts like bruise healing pastes and blood replenishing potions. Maybe add the nutritional potions to correct the malnutrition, which will help those from poor countries. I'll also give you the instructions on how to brew the modified pepper up potion developed by Hermione that does not give off any special effects that is overtly magical in nature. If you could ask them to brew special batches of veritaserum and its antidote along with dreamless sleep potion, that would be great. I just want to ask them to ensure that the potions must be hospital grade or better so that we can have high quality if we ever get to sell it to the outside world."

"I will see to it, Harry," confirmed Winky.

"I have one last item on my mind. Do you have any objections to naming our trunk world? I am thinking of giving it a proper name so that we do not have to keep referring to it as the trunk world."

"I never really got to name this world when I created it. Do you have any suggestions?" Rowena asked those in the room.

"We usually just call it home but I agree that the trunk world should have its own name," commented Dobby.

"I want to call this world Elysium if you have no objections," opined Harry.

"I like it," commented Winky while Dobby nodded agreement.

"Elysium, a fitting name for a place of perfect happiness. I agree," said Godric which got nods from the others.

"Spread the word of the new name of our home, Elysium, to the other elves."

The meeting broke up at that point. Harry went back to Napa and planned out what to do with the surplus in Elysium. He took about half a ton of 24 karat gold bars that weighed a kilo each and placed it into twenty aluminum suit cases. He would be selling the gold into many private mints both in the US and Canada then the money will undergo a complicated process before making its way into his Swiss banker where most of his money is held. He does maintain a few million dollars in his Chase Manhattan bank.

While he was fleshing out his business plans, he looked into the growing prejudice being heaped upon metahumans in the world. He was aware of this even while he was working in the UNSC as he was briefed at the ambassador's request on some of the metahumans in the general area since Harry was with her on most meetings with diplomats and he already had code word clearance. Many countries are still neutral on the issue but there are now isolated issues of harassment happening here in the US. At first there were just small grumblings a few years ago but it has risen slowly to become one of the more troublesome issues in international politics. Media footage of a small number of metahumans committing petty crimes using their powers did nothing but fan the flames against them. There were many metahumans that help out their fellow man like the X-Men and Dr. Strange, all based here in New York state. They combat the villains both metahumans and normal humans along with villains of extra-terrestrial and supernatural origin. These groups try and capture the villains to prevent them from causing harm.

Charles Xavier, a powerful telepath, operates a school for gifted kids that really function as a mutant safe haven and leads the X-Men covertly, is the defacto leader of the mutants who wants equal rights and peaceful coexistence with their fellow men. While his intentions are good and honorable, he is not able to really able to reach a wide audience.

Magneto, a man with the gift of controlling magnetism and its various forms, was his former friend and ally who is now his most ardent opponent. Magneto believes that mutants have to take over the world by any means necessary in order to save the homo superior race from the persecution of the Homo sapiens. Sadly, many mutants are more receptive to Magneto's approach because of the hate and persecution they experienced from their fellow men.

Harry would be using his spare time to try and get into a dialogue with some of them to get a better feel for the cause as he thinks his telepathy, telekinesis and flight came from a mutation on his genes placed when he first arrive here. His strength, speed and endurance all come from his magical gifts. He resolved to meet with Dr. Xavier and Dr. Strange as soon as possible.

From the copies he made while in the UNSC of SHIELD files, he was able to find the location of Strange and Xavier's location. His first contact would be Strange as lived in the neighborhood so to speak.

While he was a few hundred meters away from the house named Sanctum Sanctorum on the files, he felt and saw powerful wards using his mage sight. The wards were checking him out if he was a friend or a foe. Harry did not really mind it as he had no quarrel with the Sorcerer Supreme. He rang the buzzer on the door and a few seconds later a bald Asian man opened it.

"Good morning. My name is Harry Potter and I would like to speak with the Sorcerer Supreme."

"I see. Does my master know of your coming?"

"No, I did not have an appointment. Is he available?"

"My name is Wong his man servant. Please follow me to the sitting room."

Harry was left alone in the sitting room while Wong went to get his master. A minute later, a tall man with dark hair streaked with grey entered the room. Harry could feel the magical power of the man even as he came into the room.

"Good morning, Mr. Potter what can I help you with?"

"Good morning, Dr. Strange. I just wanted to introduce myself to you. I am wizard." Harry admitted bluntly. He knew that Strange can feel his magic anyway so he would not deny that fact.

"A wizard? While I have met many practitioners of the mystical arts, this is the first time I have encountered a wizard. Shamans, witch doctors and other sorcerers are a bit wide spread in the world. You are not from this reality are you?"

Harry took a sip of the coffee that Wong served earlier to hide his surprise. "Yes, Dr. Strange, I am from a different Earth. Your reputation is well deserved."

"Thank you. And how did you know where to look for me?"

"To be honest, I used to work for the head of the UNSC for almost three years. I would have met with you sooner but I was busy establishing a new life. I was curious about the magic I felt in this area while I was passing by your street so I snooped around a bit."

"Hmm. You were the source of the surge of mystical energy I felt around that time near Central Park. I tried to look for it in my spare time but all I can feel were the strong wards that protect a building near there. They were made from 'good' magic for lack of a better term so I left it alone. I have a request of you Mr. Potter."

"What would that be, doctor?"

"In my line of work, I have to be sure of who I am discussing things. While I feel from your aura that you are good, I want your permission to use the Eye of Agamotto on you. It will not harm you nor will it reveal any of your secrets to me. All it will do is to make sure of your intentions."

"I will agree to that if you give me a magical oath that this artifact would cause me no harm nor will it reveal my secrets. If you do so, I will consent to the use of this artifact."

"Very well. I, Doctor Stephen Strange, Sorcerer Supreme, give my word that the Eye of Agamotto will not harm Harry Potter nor will it reveal his secrets. It will only judge him whether he is for the good, on my life and magic I swear this. So mote it be." A silvery light engulfed them both once Strange finished his oath.

"So mote it be. Thank you for the oath. Please use the Eye on me if you must."

Dr. Strange extended his right palm to Harry and his amulet opened like well an eye and Harry was bathed in white light. Harry felt an alien consciousness examine him. It felt like hours but it only took about ten seconds. Once the entity finished his examination of Harry, the two occupants of the room heard a voice in their head that said, "I judge Harry Potter as an agent of good and fate marked. I, Agamotto of the Vishanti, order you Sorcerer Supreme to let him learn from you, the Book of the Vishanti and your other tomes if he wishes. I have spoken."

Strange and Harry were a bit awed at the power which washed over them both. "Harry Potter, it is a great honor to be given permission to learn from the Book of the Vishanti. It is the book possessed by the Sorcerers Supreme and it is very rarely shared to anyone. I would take him up on the offer to learn from the book and both my public and personal library. I would be happy to teach and guide you in my spare time."

"Thank you, Dr. Strange I will learn as much as I can and please call me Harry."

"Alright, then you may call me Stephen, Harry."

Harry and Strange sat down and shared some of their experience and past. They did not tell each other all but the examination did give them a very big start on a friendship. Harry learned that sorcerers in this reality used invocation of various entities as patrons to perform their magic since they did not have their own cores. He was a bit leery of doing this as he did not want to be a conduit of anyone. He kept this to himself so as not to offend Strange. To each his own, he guessed. He would just have to try and adapt whatever magi he learns here to use his own extremely large magical core. Voldemort's core was easily the equal of thirty normal witches and wizards and most of his inner circle were at the very least above average. Add to that the cores of the almost a hundred strong DEs still alive when he drained Voldemort who became like a straw that siphoned all his DEs magic into Harry. He also noticed that his magical core became even bigger when he arrived in this reality. His magical reserves replenished after just an hour of rest even if he almost drained three fourths of it when he was trying to gauge how much it has grown upon the first few months of his arrival in this Earth. He made arrangements with Strange to allow him to visit the libraries whenever Harry was free. In return, Harry thought he can reciprocate this by giving Strange with copies of the Standard Book of Spells from years 1 to 7 as well as a copy of the latest editions of Hogwarts: A History and A History of Magic written by an American witch named Sabrina Spellman. Strange gave Harry a letter of introduction to Dr. Xavier. It should make meeting the other metahumans easier. Strange also promised to notify Xavier will expect him tomorrow.

Harry enjoyed the morning drive to the X Mansion in Westchester, New York. He was met by a beautiful red head named Jean Grey and guided to the office and study of Dr. Xavier. There were a few people with Xavier who was a bald man on a wheelchair. A beautiful black woman with white hair named Ororo Munro, a spectacled man with dark brown hair named Scott Summers and a man named Logan who had black hair rising to form two pointed ends like wings who was chewing an unlit cigar. Logan seemed to be in his forties while the others range from their early to late twenties.

"Good morning Mr. Potter. These are my professors here in my school. Logan is the teacher in charge of physical fitness. Ororo teaches various languages and history while Scott teaches math and science. Jean is our resident doctor who also teaches health. I am the headmaster and I also teach ethics."

"Good morning Professor. My name is Harry Potter. I used to work as a linguist and translator in the office of the head of the UN Security Council. I wanted to introduce myself to your group and I also have a few questions regarding mutations, Dr. Xavier. I also have this letter of introduction from Dr. Strange." Harry gave the letter to Xavier.

Everyone became a bit tense when Harry mentioned mutations. Harry felt two separate probes trying to enter his mind. One was very subtle, like Dumbledore's and the other was also subtle but less refined.

"Please, Dr. Xavier, Dr. Grey, it is rude to pry into another person's mind."

"I am sorry, Mr. Potter. I was just curious about your intentions. You do have an interesting mind defenses." Dr. Grey blushed as she was caught.

"I am also sorry about the intrusion. I am only looking out for the people I am responsible for. I hope you understand." Xavier apologized.

"It is not a problem. I understand your concerns perfectly however everyone has a right to their privacy, wouldn't you agree? Now I do have some questions regarding genetics and what causes, shall we say, certain individual quirks. I sought you out since you are one of the leading geneticists in the world. In the interest of disclosure, I was briefed in on some of the more visible mutants in the US and Professor X and his X-Men are included in the briefing. As I know your powers and some of your backgrounds, I think it is only fair for you to know some information about mine. However, you will not be able to discuss or spread any of what you learn with anyone I have not personally told." Raised eyebrows followed by nods were the response he got before he began an abridged account of his story. Of course, he had applied a modified Fidelius charm to keep his secrets. He also gave a brief demonstration of his powers by changing the sofa into a lion, levitating Logan while he also rose into the air and reading Scott's thoughts. He did downplay his mutant abilities to be mediocre at best. Tests on a blood sample confirmed that he had the X-gene responsible for mutation. The two doctors explained how this differed from the genes of an average male in his thirties.

"Harry, before you go, I would like to extend an invitation for you to join our team. I think we could work well together for the future of the human race," said Xavier.

"Charles, while I share the objective with you of peaceful and equal coexistence, I think we have a different approach to how we wish to achieve it. Do not worry; I do not believe that only through conquest and premeditated violence can we achieve the goal like your old friend Erik Lensherr. I hope to forge a different path to equality and peace," stated Harry. "It doesn't mean that I will not lend assistance if I can to you and your team just as I am willing to aid Stephen in the defense of our dimension from invaders if he calls me. I also know that housing many special young men and women is a very admirable and noble thing to do; it is also an expensive undertaking. If you need help in funding this sanctuary, I am willing to contribute in its upkeep."

"Thank you for your generous offer but I think I can manage it. I will take you up on your offer of help if we find ourselves in need of it. I am glad that peace and equality are also your own goals, Harry. Please do not be a stranger, come visit us when you have the time."

A final round of handshakes and Harry was on his way back to the city. He did notice a red headed woman observing the mansion. He surreptitiously scanned her surface thoughts to identify her. He noticed her earlier when he arrived at the mansion. She was Natasha Romanoff, the Black Widow of SHIELD. She did not follow him nor did Harry find anyone follow him so he concluded that the X-Men were under close observation by SHIELD. It was not really unusual since metahumans were one of tr agency's main concerns.

He made a note to send a care package of potions to the X-Men and Dr. Strange once he found a way to establish his corporation. They got into a lot of scrapes and after all, not everyone had the regenerative abilities of Logan a.k.a. Wolverine.

February 2008

Harry hit the books hard to learn more about the technical aspects and finances of running a business as big as the one he is envisioning. He wants to initially gain a foothold in the global economy by introducing the healing potions then maybe branching out into other things. Every nation on earth will want the potions, he was sure of it so it will earn him legitimate money. Fame and money can get him influence on the global scale to let him speak out on equality and peace. He will be using the money he earned from the potions sales into soup kitchens all over the world's cities which will make the elves happy since they can produce as much food as they want. He will be establishing orphanages with attached schools up to high school level. This will let him mold the minds of the future generations to be more receptive to the concepts of freedom, equality and peaceful coexistence. Prejudice will not be tolerated there.

Harry decided to prepare a thousand single dose bottles of each potion and small squeezable tubes of the salves with about fifty thousand doses prepared. Since each of the potions was in different colors, he will be asking the elves to make the bottles and tubes into the same color as the potions and salves to make identification easier. The best thing about the potions and salves is that the dose does not have to take into account the patient's weight or age so each dose is approved to be used on both children and adults. The laziness of the witches and wizards made the potions idiot proof.

The ongoing war in Afghanistan and other hotspots will prove to be a boon to Harry's plans. War torn areas are always in need of medicines and the potions he plans to provide at no cost to the field hospitals should garner international media exposure.

But before he can implement his plan, Harry and the elves need to find an efficient way to bottle, label and then box the products. Harry will initially subcontract the production of the bottles, squeezable tubes, labels and boxes to a company who specialized in manufacturing the items he needs. If his plans succeed and he was positive it will, he will purchase the company and include it under the umbrella of the future Potter Corp.

March 2008

Harry has finished the initial run of ten thousand single dose bottles and tubes for his potions and salves. He has also finished setting up Potter's Herbal Medicines. The company has two initial offices, one in NYC and one in London. He hired a law firm in both countries who specialized in corporate law along with a few people to handle inquiries about the potions. He chose them all using the recommendation of his lawyers who also acted as his main head hunter. He used his telepathy to ensure that they were people he can work with and he had asked the law firm to make his employee contracts were very air tight. He briefed them on the public parts of his plans and what their roles would play. He was going to handle the manufacturing aspects himself and he would be accompanied by his lawyers to any meetings with the government or potential buyers. He hired a manager to take care of marketing and customer relations and another to handle the delivery of products. His accountant would make sure they get paid the salaries and operating expenses.

His plan to introduce the potions to the US forces in Afghanistan calls for him to be one of the trauma surgeons there and in order to do that, he needs to create a new identity for himself like transcript records from his high school up to med school and residency at the Johns Hopkins along with paper work to insert into the files of US Naval Academy, the US Marine Corps and the US Defense Department. The papers would easy to make but it would take a few days to covertly infiltrate and insert the files into each of the relevant locations. It took about a week to finish but in the end of that week, Captain Owen Hunt of the US Marine Corps was on a military shuttle to Afghanistan.

"Captain Owen Hunt reporting for duty, Major." Harry saluted his superior.

"At ease, Captain. I see you volunteered to be assigned here from Okinawa. Good man, we need good surgeons for our wounded brothers. I have to ask, what is inside the crate that you brought with you?" Major Donnelly asked Harry.

"Major, I only rode in the same plane as the crate; I did not exactly bring it with me. Maybe there are instructions or something with it, Sir."

"Very well, let us check shall we?"

While Harry made it a point to let Major Donnelly take the lead in opening the crate so he can say he was not the one to open, he also ensured that the army major would find the big box filled with dozens of booklets which was basically a for dummies guide on how to use the potions. Donnelly absentmindedly dismissed Harry to read one of the booklets, muttering about the fantastical claims of the 'tonics' and the mania for all things 'organic'.

Knowing the skepticism doctors would have in using an untested drug, Harry patiently waited for his products to be used. He hated waiting for a catastrophe to happen but he comforted himself with the fact that he is not the cause of any bad thing to happen and that his potions and pastes would work to save the lives of many of the casualties.

A brutal ambush on an international team of observer happened about two weeks into Captain Hunt's tour of duty that became the catalyst for the potions to be a household name in the medicine. Much to Harry's surprise, Major Donnelly, one of the most vocal detractors in the base hospital, was the one to suggest the use of the potions to save the lives of the team. The major asked the leader of the international team of observers if he will let the doctors use the experimental potions. They were at the last resort as many of the men were bleeding out because the blood transfusions were unable to keep up with the blood loss. The Chinese man quickly gave his authorization to try this solution. The blood replenishing and skele-gro potions were tremendously helpful in saving the team and their military escorts that day. The most seriously wounded was going to be fine after a week of hospital stay instead of maybe months or recovery if he survived at all. Harry let the buzz about the 'magical' medicines go its natural course without him fanning the flames. Doctors, both civilian and military, from the patient's countries were very interested in the new medicine. Each got a few samples of the medicines from Major Donnelly and the base commander and they wanted more for controlled testing in their own countries labs. They were given a copy of the booklets which included an email address to contact the POT company.

A few days after the ambush, Captain Hunt died of a vehicular accident. His heavily burnt corpse was only identified with his dental records.

Back in PHM's office in Manhattan and London, a frenzy of inquiries from the US Pentagon, the UK Ministry of Defense and various representatives of interested countries were being fielded by the employees who were simply instructed by their managers to get the email address of the interested party and a delivery address where samples of the PHM products can be sent. The interest became even more numerous because the ambush was leaked to the international press by an 'unnamed source,' cough cough Harry Potter cough cough.

Harry was summoned to the White House and 10 Downing Street for high level meetings with the two countries' chief executives as he refused outright to deal with underlings. He chose to go the UK first since his plans call for the help of the Queen in persuading the US president in giving him latitude.

He arrived at 10 Downing Street a bit after lunch but he was told to come along with the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, to Buckingham Palace. The minister was silent on the way to the palace aside from the usual pleasantries.

While undergoing a rather thorough security check, they were led to an elegantly designed sitting room to wait for the Queen, where, like the trip to the palace, little was said while they awaited the monarch.

At the Queen's arrival, both men stood and bowed to her. They performed the usual flowery greetings and settled down at the Queen's command of, "Please sit down, gentlemen."

"Mr. Potter, We have asked Prime Minister Brown to have your meeting moved here so that We may join your discussion regarding the new medicines being talked about in the media and to thank you personally for saving the lives of my subjects in the ambush including the life of my grandson, Prince William."

"I am glad be of service, Your Majesty, but I was unaware that the prince was in Afghanistan that day," stated Harry in a somewhat confused tone.

"Prince William was in an auto accident a few days ago near Balmoral Castle where he lost control of his car's steering on his way back from a fund raiser. His chase car was able to bring him quickly to the castle where the resident doctor was able to use the blood replenishing skele-gro and anti-paralysis potions to save his life and allow him to walk again. There were no witnesses and the entire staff was sworn to secrecy. The doctor is a friend of a British doctor in the American military hospital where the victims of the ambush were taken. The doctor there sent a few samples to out man in Balmoral," the PM informed Harry. "I trust you will be keeping that information to yourself."

"Of course, Prime Minister, you may rely on my discretion."

"Now, Mr. Potter, let us discuss these new medicines you aim to manufacture. Could you tell us more about them?" The Queen asked Harry.

"I would be happy to do so, Ma'am, but first I will start with a little background information about myself. I am a reality traveller from a similar Earth. The main difference is that instead of the mutants and other metahumans, my world had magical people called witches and wizards along with other sentient beings like centaurs and goblins. While the world of magical beings is hidden from the non-magical world, we maintain liaisons with the heads each of our country's government like the prime minister here and the technology of the magical world is a backwards society stuck in the Victorian era, there is no electricity, but what we have is an abundance of magical devices and indeed magical spells that perform similar functions as normal machinery. The potions and salves I am planning on distributing is our version of your pharmaceuticals."

"I find this all hard to believe but the efficacy of your medicines cannot be doubted. Did my counterpart in your earth know of this?" The queen quickly replied at the end of Harry's narrative.

"Yes, Ma'am. In fact I was one of your magical lords in England. I also hold a non-magical peerage, the Earldom of Inverness and a knighthood, that your counterpart bestowed upon me. A few years before I came to this reality, the magical world of Britain was in a civil war with an extremely powerful dark wizard under the pretense of blood superiority, that those of pure blood was better than those of mixed blood. It was prophesied that the only one who can defeat him is a child born as the seventh month dies from parents who has thrice defied him and he will mark the child as his equal. Two babies were born as July came to a close, a child of pure blood, who later came to be a good friend, and a child of mixed blood, myself. It is a curious thing that he chose me instead of the pure blood, it later came out that the self-styled Lord Voldemort is really Tom Riddle, a wizard of mixed blood like myself. He came and murdered my parents on All Hollows Eve. He also tried to kill me that night but he failed. His killing curse rebounded upon him which made him into a spirit. The spell left a lightning bolt shaped scar on my forehead, thus marking me as his equal."

"That is a very sad and dark tale, Mr. Potter," commented the PM.

"Yes, it is, Prime Minister. I gather that is not the end of the rather morbid tale, is it, Mr. Potter?"

"Unfortunately, that is true. I was left by the headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in Scotland, Albus Dumbledore. He was also the head of the magical version of the House of Lords. He placed me in the care of my mother's sister against the will of my parents. My aunt did not like magic for some reason and well, let us just say that my aunt and her family did not 'care' for me as well as I should have been. When I turned eleven, I was reintroduced to the magical world and I am afraid that as a young boy, I looked at this as a wish come true. I naively came to look at the headmaster as my savior from my family as I will be at a boarding school for most of the year although every summer I had to go back to my relatives. Every year without fail, I faced danger in school that I was able to luckily overcome. However, it all came to ahead on my fifth year. I was lured into a trap and my godfather died in the rescue attempt. I wad forced to look at the life I have been leading without the rose colored glasses."

"I am very sorry what had happened to you, Mr. Potter," said the Queen.

"It is all in the past, Ma'am. I was helped by a few people to train and learn all the things I needed to defeat the dark lord just as my sixth year in Hogwarts came to a close. I thought I can have a peaceful life by then but it was not to be. My friends and I along with their families were forced to flee to the US because we were being portrayed as ruthless vigilantes by those in power. The followers of Voldemort were from the pure blood upper class. My friends and I killed most of them and their relatives were out for blood. It did not help that most witches and wizards are sheep easily led by the one with the loudest voice. We were given sanctuary by the US Department of Magic from the persecution. We lived the rest of our lives there. As my friends died of old age, I remained young. I still look like a young man in his early twenties."

"You are immortal?" The PM asked incredulously.

"Is that even possible, Mr. Potter?"

"Normally it is not but a set of circumstances led me to become one. However, I am no longer immortal that I cannot die, I sacrificed it to travel to this reality. I will not grow old nor will I feel the effects of old age but I can now die, I hope you will forgive me if I do not reveal how. Now, I know that you have both held off your curiosity for too long. Would you like a demonstration?"

"I would very much like that, Mr. Potter. I have held off asking for one as you had a riveting tale but as that has ended, I think it is time we received some proof," said the Queen.

"I will be happy to do so. When I first entered the vicinity of the palace, I felt some wards around it. I gather you have someone with the ability to do magic? I would need your permission to cast spells here or I may face some repercussions from the wards."

"Yes, I was wondering if you would notice, it is one of the reasons why I am inclined to believe your tale. We give you permission to cast spells in our presence that would not harm anyone for this day only."

"Thank you. I remember doing these spells for your counterpart. Please do not panic."

Harry levitated the two leaders slowly into the air and flew them around the room. After setting them both down into their respective seats, he transfigured his chair into a large St. Bernard which he ordered to around the room playing tricks before turning it back into his seat.

The Queen and the PM were silent for a minute before the Queen spoke again, "Mr. Potter, I pride myself with the ability to discern the character the character of the people I meet and I find you to be a good and moral man though you have a much more profound goal than simply wishing to help cure your fellow man. I am not saying that this is not a worthy cause, but I can see that you have an end game. We would know your reasons."

"I agree with Her Royal Highness. What is your real agenda for want of a better word? You must know that you can name your terms with regards to your potions and we would have no choice but to agree to it providing you do not give impossible demands that would adversely affect our country's security and sovereignty."

"I admit to having a more far reaching and ambitious objective. I have learned of the plight of the mutants and metahumans and I must say that it disgusts me. I also know your personal stances on this hot issue which is why I would request your support in bringing about a peaceful and equal standing for both the metahumans and mutants along with the rest of mankind. If we do not make a stand, I fear that it can lead to a very dark and violent future for our world. I hope that by making us metahumans a very valuable and indispensable part of mankind's future, we can all learn to work together. Money is not my objective nor is power. I see money and the political power it will undoubtedly bring me as a means to an end. My potions and salves are only the start of what I can bring to the table. I will keep those things closely held for now but I give you my word that I do not seek to rule nor do I want to undermine anyone's freedom."

"Your goals are admirable but very ambitious and I must admit I share them. I maybe limited by what support I can give as the monarchy is only a figurehead but I think I still hold a bit more influence in the world stage. You will have my support." The Queen told Harry.

"For that matter, I can give you my word that I will personally support you and I will do my best to sway my colleagues in government to help bring about the bright future we dream of."

"Thank you for your support. I know this is only a start and that there will be plenty of hurdles and obstacles we will face even from the people we are trying to help. I will do my best to mitigate that side of the equation. If you need my help in defending Britain, I will be at your service. Now regarding the production of the medicines, I will not be able to disclose the process and what materials I use. The medicines are completely safe and have been tested before for hundreds of years but I see no problems in giving governments all over the world as many samples as they want to test and research. I feel bad that I will be pricing the medicines quite a bit higher for those with the means to buy them. I will use the money to employ doctors, nurses and other medical professionals to provide low cost medical care to the less privileged people."

"I see. How do you plan to do that?" The PM was curious on how Harry will pull this off.

"Much of the proceeds coming from of the medicine sales will be directed to that goal. I plan to have a compound in each of the major cities of the world. Each compound will hold the main distribution venue for the medicines and an attached hospital that will treat patients without regard to race, religious creed or financial status. There will be an orphanage and a school for those unable to pay for an education from age four until they graduate high school or their local equivalent at which point it will be up to them to work and pay for their own way in college. The compound will also have a food outlet that would sell nutritious food and drinks to anyone for a very small fee during lunch and dinner. The entire compound will be privately funded as nonprofit organizations. My initial plans are to build compounds in New York, London, Paris, Rome, Berlin, Moscow, Jerusalem, Tehran, Kabul, Beijing, New Delhi, Islamabad, Baghdad, Tokyo, Manila, and Seoul within the first five years of the company's operations. The reason why I want to build these compounds in the leading industrialized countries first is mainly to be able to maximize the early sales potential and to capitalize on the media buzz it will generate. This should help me in negotiating with the more difficult and problematic countries in the Middle East.

"You are that confident in your products? I know these medicines are a game changer but at the rate you want to expand is very aggressive, is it not?" The Queen was a bit skeptical of Harry's plan.

"That would be true if I intend to keep much of the profits. I am serious in saying that I do not intend to profit much from this. I only plan to keep about ten to fifteen percent of the profits and use the rest for expansion and my goals. Money does not mean much to me, Ma'am. I am already comfortably well off from my inheritances both here and from my previous reality."

"In that case your rapid expansion will be possible but let us go back about your products. Where do you plan on setting up your processing plants? I have only heard you mention corporate offices already set up here in London and in Manhattan, what about your production facilities?" Gordon Brown was interested to see if he can lure Harry into setting up the production facilities here instead of in the US.

"I am afraid I will only be putting up corporate and distribution points in the compounds around the world but my production facilities will be a secret I will not divulge. Almost all of my production will be handled using magical means which will negate the use of any nation's workforce. In the beginning, I will be subcontracting the production of the containers, labels, instructions and packaging for the products but I plan on buying or building my own plant inside the compound to handle that part of the business in the long term. This is to reduce or outright deny anyone the ability to tamper or copy my products, not that anyone will be able to as the main ingredients is not found anywhere in the globe as they are magical in nature. Even now, my lawyers are leasing one store location in many of the world's capitals. The store's only function is to sell the products, we will not be delivering it to drugstores or hospitals, if they want the products, they must pick it up from the store or they must pay for shipping and handling. I know it will probably cause some arguments at first but it will be the company's policy in the first few years."

"I was hoping to convince you to build your plants here but I can see your point, Mr. Potter. I assume the workforce for each compound will be handled by locally?"

"Yes, sir. I will try to make up for not having employees for production by staffing the compounds with locally hired employees. I hope to foster company loyalty by providing low rent residential buildings near or within the compound for each employee's husband, wife, children, parents, and siblings until the age of 18. Their children and siblings will be given preference in admittance into the compound's school, this will be the only exemption in the schools' admissions department."

"That would be a significant undertaking, Mr. Potter. When do you plan on building your compound here in London?"

"Your Highness, I am currently looking for a large tract of land in the outskirts of London and New York City. Once I get the approval to sell the medicines, I will be purchasing the land and begin construction of the facilities. Leasing will not be an option because I do not want the headache of trying to negotiate contractual terms every few years."

"In any case, I will try and expedite the approval for the products for public consumption but the earliest time will be in about three months, six months in the latest. I am afraid it will be the fastest possible time frame the Minister for Health can give without giving your company preferential treatment which would harm your company's image, smear campaigns by rival pharmaceutical companies will be salivating at any hint of impropriety, you do understand that do you not? It will go much quicker for use with the military, there three months is a firm estimate."

"I understand, Prime Minister. I am actually more pessimistic in my estimates regarding but somewhat on target for the military procurement."

"Mr. Potter, I am sure you have considered the dangers on your person from your rivals, haven't you? The Prime Minister is concerned that this is a possibility. You will be taking most of their profits away from their pockets." The Queen asked worriedly.

"I have considered the possibility, Ma'am. I do not wish to brag but I am confident I can handle anything my rivals throw at me. I am always protected though you might not see it. In fact, I will be happy to provide this to both of your immediate families if you will accept it." Harry produced a large jewelry box from his pocket. He showed them a gold ring beautifully inscribed with runes with a diamond set in them.

"Each ring will provide a shield capable of deflecting from poison gas, high powered rifle shots, grenades or even a direct hit by a mortar shell. It will grow uncomfortably warm if you are about to drink or eat anything poisoned and if you become unconscious or harmed beyond the ring's considerable protections, you will be placed into stasis by the ring and instantly teleported to a secure location that is always staffed with an expertly trained medical professional. If that happens, I will know immediately and I will get to you as soon as circumstances allow."

"Teleported, Mr. Potter?" The Queen asked immediately.

"Yes, Ma'am. Would you like to try it? It will be a bit disorienting but it is completely safe." Harry stood and took an empty saucer from the tea service on the table and it glowed blue after a silently cast a modified portkey spell. "Prime Minister, would you like to try it too? Please hold on to this saucer tightly."

Once the two leaders have held on to the saucer, Harry said, "Activate."

They all felt a rush like plane taxiing for departure and saw flashes of bright blue and white lights for about five seconds before appearing on Harry's rooftop garden in Manhattan.

"What was that and where are we?" The Queen asked Harry at the very noticeable difference in the sky. It was early afternoon in London but here it was still morning.

"Your Royal Highness, we are on my rooftop garden in Manhattan. If you look over there, you can see Central Park."

"This is an amazing experience, Mr. Potter. I barely felt it!" The PM exclaimed.

Harry can only laugh at the man's comment. "That was a modified version of the portkey charm. The original spell would have severely disoriented you to the point of throwing up in most cases because of the large distance. I think we should go back now, your security might be going nuts right now."

"I completely forgot about that. Let us be off, young man." The Queen commanded.

"At your command, Your Majesty." Harry held out the saucer again and they appeared back in the sitting room which was now filled with panicking staff and guards.

"At ease, men. Point those guns away from us, young man. Everything is all right. What just occurred is a covered under Official Secrets. None of you will mention this to anyone, am I understood?" The Queen asked imperiously.

A chorus of, "Yes, Your Majesty," was heard from the rather relieved men and women before they immediately exited the room.

"Mr. Potter, We will be most grateful to you if you will provide our families with your rings. How much would each of them cost?"

"Your Majesty, I will not accept payment for these rings as enchanting is one of my hobbies."

"But they are all made of pure gold and the diamond is of excellent clarity, surely they must cost a fortune! The exquisite quality of the design alone would command a few thousand pounds. Why they are on the level of my own jewelry and I consider myself an expert on fine jewelry."

"Your Majesty, trust me when I say that I have so much gold that if I sell a fraction of it all at the same time, I can destabilize the world's gold trade. The number of diamonds I possess will dwarf even the production of the mines in Kimberly. It makes me proud that you like my craftsmanship, Your Highness. I would like you to accept this as a small token of my appreciation, not as a bribe."

Harry gave the PM four rings, one for himself, his wife and his two children. "Do not worry if the ring is a bit bigger than your wife and children's fingers. They will automatically adjust to fit them snugly even if the fingers grow. When they wear it for the first time, they will feel a prick like an ant's bite to draw a tiny amount of its wearer's blood to key its protections to them. The wound would heal instantly so do not worry about it. Once this done, the rings can then only be removed by their wearer, even severing the finger will only transfer the ring to another finger. If the wearer wishes to hide the ring, just will it to be invisible and it will not be seen by anyone else aside from the wearer."

Harry gave the jewelry box to the Queen. "All the rings inside the jewelry box work the same way as the ones I gave the Prime Minister. There are about thirty rings in there, if you require more, just contact me and I will send them to the Prime Minister."

"Mr. Potter, you have given me a great gift, the peace of mind that my family and their children will be safe no matter what. You have only to ask and if it is in my power to grant, you will receive it."

"Your Majesty, your personal outspoken views on the metahumans and mutants along with the Prime Minister's own are enough and I dare say these rings are a necessity as your opinions will undoubtably put you and your family in danger from both the anti-mutant activists and even from the mutants themselves."

"I will have to return to the office to get started on this. I will tell Madame Sinclair that she can have the samples picked up from your London office tomorrow, am I correct?"

"That shouldn't be a problem, Prime Minister, and please, call me Harry. I always look for my Transfiguration professor whenever I get called Mr. Potter. She was quite stern, you see."

"You must have been a handful in your youth, Harry. Call me Gordon when we are in a private setting."

"I insist on being called Elizabeth if we are not in public. Your contribution to my family's safety gives you that right. You may not believe it but underneath this stern formal woman is a grandmother who likes to spoil their grandchildren."

"I will try and do that, Ma'am. I mean Elizabeth. Your counterpart also insisted on that but I hope you will be more forgiving than her. She even threatened to revoke my titles if I do not do so."  
>Harry laughed at the memory.<p>

"I will be calling Bush as soon as I get to 10 Downing Street and try to be less heavy handed in your meeting. That man blusters too much sometimes. Hopefully the next president will have more common sense, the November elections across the pond are just around the corner."

A final round of handshakes was exchanged before they each left for their own destinations. 

At the White House.

A short but pretty woman came into the Oval office. "Mr. President, the British Prime Minister is on line one."

"Thanks, Mellaine. I'll answer it right quick." Bush picked up the phone. "Good evening, Gordie. It is evening there ain't it?"

"Yes, George, good afternoon to you and for the last time my name is Gordon."

"You really have to lighten up, Gordie. Now what can I do ya for?" He loved to needle the Brit, too uptight if you ask him.

"The Queen and I have just finished meeting with the CEO of the company making those new medicines in the headlines earlier this afternoon. We liked what we heard of his plans and I suggest you get in line and fast track the approval for his products. It will save a lot of the young men and women in the armed forces."

"I know that! The Pentagon brass along with the pencil pushers practically wet themselves over it, thinking about the lower unproductive recovery times and lesser training costs. The bad news is that the drug companies are lobbying to have the herbal medicines banned and you know how big of a clout they have in Congress."

"Are you saying that your country will be following the lead of the drug companies? I must say the Queen will be proud to tell Mr. Potter that the country of his birth will be happy to support him in his endeavors to help mankind. Did you know his medicines saved the life of Prince William? The prince almost died and even if he survived, he will be paralyzed however these new medicines not only saved him from bleeding out, they also ensured that he will walk again! We were hoping that Mr. Potter will make his corporate headquarters here in London, if you do ban his medicine there, he is sure to revoke his US citizenship and move to London! This is splendid news, old chap!"

"Now, see here Gordie! I never said we will ban the medicines! I just said we will have some issues with the lobbyists. The generals will skin me alive if they do not have the medicines and the Taliban has them. I will be meeting with him soon to go over the details. It may be my gift to the American people; I can be the man who saved the lives of the young Americans in Afghanistan, that sounds great. Anyway, I'll be sure to talk to Potter about his drugs and give him as much leeway as I can. I will have my secretary call him tomorrow at the latest. Do you need anything else?"

"No, George, I am all done. Remember, we want that medicine to be used by those in the 'War on Terror.' It is your responsibility to them; you did kick off the war." The PM was a bit disgusted that he had to use this tactic on the US President. 

President George W. Bush closed his eyes and sighed. "I know, Gordon. I pray every night for the boys and girls over there. I will never forget that I sent them off in harm's way and that it is my duty to give them the best this country can offer. You can trust me on that."

"Thank you, Mr. President. Have a pleasant day."

"You too, Prime Minister, have a good evening." 

After terminating the call, the President called his secretary to place a call to Harry Potter, the owner of Potter's Herbal Medicines, to ask him to come to the White House tomorrow if possible for a meeting with POTUS. President Bush then called Nick Fury to join him in the meeting with the man.

Back in SHIELD HQ

Director Fury was in a quandary. He has been rereading a report on the 'magical' medicine being used in Afghanistan by the military hospital and about the owner of the company producing the cures. He did not know whether to be overjoyed that many men and women serving their country will be saved by this new company or to rage about the rather large intelligence gaffe that Harry Potter was right under his nose for years and he did not know about the possibility of Potter being more than what he claimed to be. He had his doubts that all those gifts that the man has can be explained by just simple training. Harry Potter was just simply too good at the things he did. He also has a report that Potter has been seen at the residence of the UK Prime Minister before getting in the PM's car and going to with the PM to Buckingham Palace. They went back to 10 Downing Street after three hours and both seemed to be on friendlier terms.

He has just received a call from the President asking him to go to the White House and join him on the meeting with Potter. Fury was glad the president did not yell at him for the failure of SHIELD to discern this possibility earlier. President Bush was normally an ebullient person, easy to show his ire or his affection; he was noticeably sober while talking to Fury earlier. Fury was asked to send over the files on Potter to complement the files the other agencies had on the young man for research purposes.

Fury just hopes that the meeting goes smoothly and that Potter cooperates. He was not so sure of that as Potter is already rich, he can leave the US and go to the UK, they will be glad to have him back there for good.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3- Along Came a Spider

Harry Potter: Magical Avenger

Disclaimer:

I do not own the Harry Potter universe nor do I own the Marvel universe which is where the Avengers and other characters came from.

Still March 2008

Harry has just finished his meeting with the current US President and he was glad this administration was coming to a close. They claim to be the Land of the Free and 'all men are equal under god,' they must mean only men or women that are not metahumans. By now, Harry has learned why Dumbledore and Xavier practice their legilimency and telepathy to read at least the surface thoughts of those they were dealing with. Though the Secretary of Health was at least a fence sitter on the metahuman issue and willing to give them a fair shake, the rest of the people inside the Oval office that day were prejudiced, corrupt and greedy men who only see the metahumans as disposable once their usefulness has past or as a resource to exploit, in short, not human to be treated as equals. Both the president and the vice president did not give a shit for the metahumans. To be fair, they also did not care about their fellow men.

Both knew they were on the way out and government positions are not going to be offered to them, they only wish to preserve their 'legacy,' whatever that may be. The Secretary of Defense was downright aggressive in his stance that the metahumans have to be eradicated, for the greater good of all normal people. He even threatened Harry with jail if he did not sell his medicines to the US armed forces. Harry just stared at the man and asked Bush if this was his government's position. At this point, the Sec Def was asked by his President to 'take a walk and cool your heels,' the president tried to make excuses for the man but it fell flat. Harry made a mental note to talk to the two candidates running for president to see if he can talk to them and check feel out along their staffs. Maybe he can give his support to one if their stance to the metahuman question is favorable to his cause.

He walked out of the meeting with nothing to show for it. He just promised samples can be picked up from the Manhattan office whenever they wanted but he is limiting the samples to a maximum of five hundred doses, it should be enough to get FDA approval or at least get the process started until the 'new guy' gets elected. When the president asked Harry to sell the unapproved potions and pastes to the military, Harry coldly replied that he is not going to produce medicine which will not be available to the general public.

It is a good thing that he read them before being as open as he was with the Queen and the PM. He would call them as soon as he got to a quiet place. He did not want to be 'outed' to the fools he just met with.

Harry teleported back from the airport's washroom to his chateau. He would make the mirror call, a wise move for security against eavesdroppers, to the PM. He was not worried that the man was busy as Harry asked him to answer only if he was alone and available. The 'mirror' was a modified version of the one he got from Sirius. It was small and very thin that to anyone else, it would be a simple calling card in his wallet and it would vibrate if there was an incoming call.

"Good evening, Prime Minister. I have just finished meeting with 'Dubya' and his staff. The only decent person there was the Health Secretary. The President, his VP, and his Defense Secretary were all wankers."

"I was afraid this will happen. I was hoping you will be meeting with just the president and health secretary. I forgot he couldn't do anything without his 'handlers.' What happened?"

"I did not reveal any of my plans other than wishing to open my business all over the world. Please apprise Her Majesty that I did not reveal any of my secrets, certainly not that I have some metahuman powers or that I am from a different reality. He requested that I continue supplying the US armed forces with the medicines but I refused. They will only get an additional five hundred samples of each potion and pastes so please ask the health minister to keep her team quiet about how much I am allowing you to use. Officially I will be limiting samples to the US and UK to 500 samples per product but I am willing to give your government an extra 2000 per product so if it ever gets leaked, I can say that the 2000 is less than the amount given to the US forces in Afghanistan. It will be up to your government if you wish to share them."

"While I can see your point in refusing to supply more to the military, do you not think saving the lives of the men and women there is more important?"

"Prime Minister, the lives of people are my priority which is why I plan on selling the things. Do you think I sent that many samples just for shits and giggles? I sent them 2000 per sample product and a further 1000 for the more critical important ones like the blood replenishers, the bone regeneration and the anti-paralysis potions as they are single use potions. The pastes can be used for at least ten times each on a moderately sized wound even though you will seldom use it five times on a severely wounded patient. It can last them at least six months, if they use the products wisely on the critically wounded. The new administration should be in place by then. I am not heartless, sir."

"I am sorry, Harry. I did not mean to imply that you are a heartless person. I merely wished to be sure that the men and women on the front lines are cared for."

"I am sorry too, Gordon. The stress of the meeting along with the rather inhuman characteristics of those I met with have been a headache. How they got into public office astounds me. Although I guess I shouldn't be surprised at all, ignorant buffoons they may be but they can act better than a BAFTA awardee." Harry chuckled ruefully at the thought which was returned by the PM.

"They are not limited to the US, I'm afraid. There are plenty of them around the world. Anyway, I will pass on your message to Her Majesty. Have a good afternoon, Harry."

"Thank you, Gordon. I will be checking on my production line later. Please give my warmest regards to the Queen. Good night." Harry ended the connection and got himself some fine single malt scotch produced by the elf Johnny before proceeding to Elysium to check on their progress.

Harry was very happy to see that they were proceeding better than expected. The elves' population has reached the ceiling of three thousand and the production of Elysium is in full swing. They have been preparing for the day the potions and pastes would finally be certified by a government and they have been stockpiling their stocks under preservation charms. Each of the products has been assigned a specific storehouse, which was expanded to fit a hundred of the storehouse's normal capacity, about a hundred thousand doses. The elves have already filled them about halfway through, five million doses already labeled, packed and ready for sale. The elves on the medical project were ecstatic as they were working as much as they want. Harry had to order them to work in shifts of nine hours per day only. A thirty minute break every two hours and a lunch break of one hour per shift and two days of rest per week. Harry was worried that they were working too much.

Winky and Dobby just chuckled at Harry's concern. They had an elf healer named Phil explain to Harry that his orders regarding the working and resting of the elves for every job in Elysium was more than sufficient as this was the normal work conditions of humans and elves had a better constitution than humans, four hours of sleep per day is more than enough. The elves were mumbling about the eleven boring hours of waiting to get to work. Harry just shook his head at the hard working elves and told three elves that his order regarding the work hours will remain in force. They will have to find a hobby or two to fill their hours or study to master their chosen crafts but they will have to eat three meals a day and get the require four hours of sleep.

While the elves in the medical project were busy, the others were not idle. The miners were busy gathering raw materials for workers busily fabricating high quality things for Harry's future plans like construction materials for Harry's compounds. The lumber jack team was getting wood prepared for furniture and other works. Harry's jewelers were creating works of art for possible resale into the general public.

The farmers and livestock breeders were stockpiling food for the use of the compounds and when the storerooms were about to be filled, Harry had the elves donate beef, pork, and seafood, along with pasta, rice, fruits and vegetables to soup kitchens, orphanages and homeless shelters all over the world but mostly to the third world countries as they needed the most help. The blue trucks used to deliver the food had the Hogwarts crest with Elysium replacing the word Hogwarts as a symbolic gesture to the hardworking elves of Elysium and the Founders as without their magical trunk, nothing will be possible. Harry also anonymously hired lawyers to trade mark the Elysium name and crest to protect it from unscrupulous men and women. As the Elysium food deliveries became famous, the elves responded with a firm 'No Comment' to every inquiry and directed the inquiries to the lawyers. In the years to come, the Elysium name and crest will be the standard that other

charitable institutions aspire to emulate as they delivered food to any institution without considering their race, gender, creed or nationality.

While awaiting approval for PHM's products from the world's governments, Harry leased spaces in Paris, Tokyo, London and NYC's to form 'Harry's,' his own luxury goods store. He easily obtained the necessary licenses to sell high quality cigars, liquors and chocolates along with custom leather goods like shoes and luggage. Similarly, he will have some elves who specialized in dress making and tailoring to sell bespoke dresses, suits, and tuxedos, along with scarves, ties, and handkerchiefs which were all made from the fine cottons, wools and such from Elysium along with a special clothing line which uses 'Potter silk,' which was really acromantula silk. His products rival if not exceed the top brands in the market. However, these were just a side business to the main products of his stores. He sold fine jewelry and other accessories for men and women made from gold, platinum and silver along with diamonds and other precious stones.

He plans to have grand galas in each of the cities he had stores in to introduce the luxury items to the rich and famous a month after the start of his media blitz. He hired the best advertisement agencies to promote his products and sent invitations to the rich and famous. To induce the invited guests to attend his events, he promised to donate cheques of $5,000 to charities in the name of the first fifty guests and $1,000 in the name of every invited guest who attends the star studded galas and there will be parting gifts of handmade scarves for the ladies and ties for the men.

The food and drinks at the parties will be served using golden plates, goblets and utensils with large emerald on their handles. Everything will be produced by the Elysium elves who were delighted to serve at their Master's gatherings.

When he mentioned these parties to the UK PM, Gordon immediately volunteered to attend the London gala with his family. The next day, he got a big surprise when Gordon sent word that the Queen along with her immediate family expects invitations to the London gala and he was given leave to have his people leak it to the media which would be 'unofficially' confirmed by the Queen's press liaisons office. Prince William and his fiancée, Catherine 'Kate' Middleton will also be attending the Tokyo gala as a thank you for the medicines which saved his life.

Harry was overjoyed with the royal family's generosity that he plans to surprise the Queen with a set of tiara, necklace, and earrings made from gold and precious stones to go with the protective ring he gave her. He sent sample boxes of his fine cigars and bottles of single malt scotch and brandy to Gordon Brown, Princes Charles, Edward, Andrew and their father Prince Philip while he sent chocolates and a case of champagne to the Queen, Princess Anne, Duchess Camilla, Sarah Brown and Catherine Middleton.

May 3, 2008

Halfway through the first gala which was held in a famous hotel's ballroom, Harry presented Queen Elizabeth II with surprise jewelry. The crowd was silent as the Queen accepted her gifts which harkened back to times gone by when Britain was the most powerful country in the world. When the Queen exchanged her current jewelry she wore with the help of Duchess Camilla and Catherine, the crowd burst into great applause accompanied by the oohs and ahhs of the women. When the Queen motioned for silence, they quickly complied.

"Mr. Potter certainly knows the way to a woman's heart," she quipped with a brilliant smile. She became regal once more. "By Our royal command, We give Harry's the Royal Warrant of Purveyors to the Crown with all its rightful honors and privileges." She smiled regally at Harry.

"Her Majesty is most generous to her humble servant," replied Harry to another round of applause.

The next day, all the stores showed of their warrants proudly on their entrance to proclaim the highest quality goods with the approval of a grateful monarch.

The stir caused by the lavish formal gala in London proved that the money he spent in the events were a good business move as his stores were having high volumes of sales across the board. If the success continues, he will have recouped the expenses for advertising and the charity contributions by the end of May with good bit left over as profits. The NYC gala would be on the first Saturday of the May followed by the Tokyo gala on the next Saturday with the last and grandest gala in Paris on the third Saturday of May.

The American media has been eagerly awaiting most lavish and star studded party of the year to date which would be happening tonight at the grand ballroom of the Plaza Hotel. Harry was talking to Winky who was overseeing the night's event when Harry felt the approach of Director Fury. Without turning around, he greeted his visitor when he approached the right distance. "Good afternoon, Director Fury. This is my good friend Winky; she will be supervising the night's event."

"Good afternoon, Mr. Potter, Winky. I would like to speak to you, Mr. Potter, regarding matters of the highest importance. Is there somewhere we can talk?"

"Follow me, Director." Harry then guided him to a quiet corner of the ballroom. "I must say that I was expecting this visit ever since the news about the medicines came out. What can I do for you, Director?"

Fury stared at Harry to see if he will break under his stare. It seemed he will be waiting a long time as Harry just showed his usual open, calm and a knowing smile. "Mr. Potter, I admit that this meeting has been long delayed. Matters have been a bit tense in Shield lately due to having to sort out a big metahuman problem."

"Ah, yes, the Hulk incident."

"That is classified Mr. Potter. Where did you get that information?"

Harry just shrugged and said with a straight face, "I found it on a conspiracy site on the internet; besides, most people think the site is rubbish so it couldn't have spread too much. It was taken down shortly so it should not have spread too much."

Fury looked at Harry intently for a few seconds before replying, "Alright, I'll give you that. I did see one of those websites a few hours after the incident. However, I am not here to talk about the big green one; I am here to talk to you about these potions of yours. I am aware that the president and his handlers pissed you off which is why you have capped your supplies to the government. I was able to reallocate some of that new medicine of yours into Shield's infirmary along with a few to our medical research division. It helped many of the men who could have never walked again from the carnage heaped upon them by the Hulk. General Ross bungled the entire situation so much that it has been reassigned to Shield. "

"I see, and while I am glad that my medicines have helped the injured men, I fail to see its relevance to this discussion."

"Mr. Potter, my medical research teams have been trying to analyze the products for a few weeks now. They have agreed that it is safe for human consumption after exhaustive testing on apes and monkeys however; they were unable to find out what the ingredients are. They have run it on spectrometers yet they are unable to make any headway. While it is my job to find out secrets that can help the world, I think that my priority will be the lives of the men and women under my command, with that said, I came to you to ask for your help in fulfilling my obligation to my people. We will be going after the Hulk so injuries would be inevitable. I need more of your medical products and in exchange, I will let you go about your business without harassing you as long as you keep you are not a threat to the world."

"Director, before I answer you, I want you to answer a simple question I have. What are your thoughts regarding the metahumans like the Hulk?"

"Personally, I don't give a damn as long as they do not infringe on the security of the world like trying to take it over or blowing it up. I will ask for their help if they can help me defeat the guys like Magneto, and his ilk. Live and let live but if they are threats to society, I will take them down."

Harry stared into, well, Fury's eye and determined that the man was indeed telling the truth.

"Good answer." Harry took out one of his business cards and wrote a few things in the back then gave it to Fury. "Please give this to one of your men, have him bring it to the PHM office here in Manhattan and he will be given a thousand doses each of the products. I am doing this to aid your men in fighting the bad guys, not because of your offer, but it is appreciated all the same. Call it a thank you for letting me play with bombs. Will you be staying for the gala?"

"I don't like these kinds of events. I'm more of a dive bar kind of guy."

"Alright, and Director? One piece of advice; trying talking to Dr. Banner before asking your men to charge in guns blazing. If you corner him, he will get stressed and Hulk-out so bring some of the calming potions with you."

"I won't even ask how you got that information, those were never mentioned in any of the websites and Bruce Banner's identity is a closely held secret so please keep it that way." Fury just shook his head and shook Harry's proffered hand before going back to the office.

Back in Shield HQ

Harry Potter is a man worth watching, Fury thought to himself. While his gut told him Potter was one of the good guys, he knew that his training and paranoia will compel him to keep tabs on him. He decided to put one of his best agents on him. As he walked into his office with his deputy, he gave her his instructions.

"Agent Hill, I want you to call in Widow from her current assignment and pull in Hawkeye to replace her."

"Barton should be in place tomorrow, he retrieved the scientist from Havana without problems. Shadowing the X-Men should be relaxing for him. Where should I reassign Romanoff?"

"I want her to go as a guest into Harry Potter's gala at the Plaza tonight. No specific objectives, just tell her to scout the place and report on anything that we might be interested in."

"You mean the new luxury store gala? It shouldn't be a problem, she will be happy to mingle with the rich and famous instead of looking through a binocular looking at kids."

"Good. Tell her its a reward for being patient in babysitting Xavier's school."

"You know that she will need to dress the part there right? It would mean shopping for clothes and such."

"Fine but tell her to get receipts for the bean counters."

"Great! I'll take her shopping. Is there anything else, boss?"

"No that's it. Don't go overboard on the shopping, the last time you two were together, the accountants nearly cried."

"I'm not making any promises sir," replied Maria Hill as she went out of Fury's office. She reached for her phone and sent a message to Natasha's phone.

'Report back 2 HQ, ASAP. New assignment.'

An hour later

A ravishing red head knocked on Maria's door twice before opening the door.

"What's my new assignment?" Natasha Romanoff asked while she got comfortable on Maria's couch.

"You, my friend, are my ticket out of this building. As a reward for your patience in babysitting the mutants, Shield is footing the bill on a new outfit so we need to go shopping," replied Maria.

"Not that I am complaining but why are we shopping?"

"Director Fury wants you in the 'Harry's' party later to night. He just wants you to mingle in the party and report anything important you learn on Harry Potter, the guy who saved Ambassador Cross. We trained him and we wanted to recruit him but he turned down Fury's offer. He recently released a line of medicines that is awaiting approval and the Pentagon is very interested. This party is for his other company that sells luxury items to the rich. Here is what we have on Harry Potter. Rich, handsome, and smart."

"Nice relaxing job then. Let's go shopping."

On a plane entering Teterborough airport

"Do we really have to stay long in this party? Why did we even have to go to this party?" Tony Stark whined to his assistant. Tony is a man of average height with black hair and goatee along with genius intellect though his ego was the size of Texas.

"Yes, Tony, we have to go for a variety of reasons," answered Pepper Potts, a beautiful red head who is Stark's loyal second in command.

"Variety huh?"

"Yes, Tony. His Potter Herbal Medicines just might be the pharmaceutical world's version of Stark Enterprises. Remember the drugs that Rhodey mentioned a week ago? That's him. He is also a Stark Industries stock holder, granted not a huge one but his 1% is solely owned by him plus the gala is for a good cause."

"Oh alright fine. Obie said the booze he tasted from Harry's was one of the best he's ever had. The trip might be worth it just for the booze."

"He also sells great jewelry according to my sources; some say they're better than Tiffany's or Cartier. You know, it is never too early to shop for Christmas presents, Tony."

"Not too subtle there, Pepper."

"Subtle never worked for you before. I'll put it on the list for your Christmas shopper."

"Alright, alright. Fine put in the list. Wait, aren't you the one who orders the gifts?"

"Yep." Pepper just smirked at her boss.

Harry's Penthouse

"Harry, I have laid out the tux for tonight's party on your bed. Wear the watch I placed next to it, it's a better match than the other one," Dobby told Harry.

"You're a lifesaver, Dobby. Are you going to the party with Winky?" Harry answered from the shower.

"Yes, we will be making sure everything runs smoothly."

"You mean you're working? I thought you guys were going as guests like you did in London."

"Nah. Once was enough. I don't want a repeat of the London accident. I almost punched the guy who squeezed Winky's bottom."

"I took care of that arse for you. He got thrown in jail by the PM's guards for disorderly conduct. I might have placed a compulsion on him so that every guy he meets in prison will give him a reminder to be respectful to ladies." Harry laughed at the memory as he came in to his room.

"You did not have to do that, Harry."

"No, Dobby, you guys are family and no one messes with my family. Besides, he got out the following Monday."

"Thanks, brother."

"No problem. I have to thank elf who made this suit, it's like I bought it from Saville Row."

"Wally actually snooped around there to learn the current styles. I asked the elves to keep updated on the styles in London and Paris so they visited many fashion houses for the clothing part of your shops. They did that to all our competitors, invisibly, of course."

"Good idea. I should have thought of that earlier."

"You can't think of everything, Harry, that's why we're here for."

"I don't know what I'll do without you guys. Thanks for everything."

"No problem. We're happy that we have somewhere to offload all the stuff from Elysium so that we can make more of them."

A few hours later at the Plaza

"Thank you for coming, Mayor Bloomberg," Harry greeted the mayor of NYC.

"Not a problem Mr. Potter, thank you for inviting me. I am always happy to help new businesses by my constituents. I'll let you talk to your other guests."

Harry surveyed the room after spending the first hour of the party welcoming his guests. The turnout for the party was excellent, primarily due to the success of the first gala in London. Some expected the President to attend but Harry did not invite him on purpose. He did invite the Democratic and Republican candidates for president to the party to ascertain their stance on the different issues like human/metahuman relations and to see if he can work with them once they are elected.

He found out that Barack Obama and John Kerry, the Democratic and Republican candidates respectively, were both good men who can be relied upon to help the metahumans plight against anti metahumans so he talked to them both regarding his medicines.

"Mr. Obama, Mr. Kerry as both of you know, I have recently supplied the US armed forces with new medicines that will help those in the front lines with their injuries. I will be delayed by the current administration so the approval of the drugs should happen during the first hundred days of the next administration. As I share your views on the metahumans issue, I will let whoever wins the November election to announce the approval of my medicines, it will be a major press coup for the next administration."

"Thank you, Mr. Potter. I believe I speak for both John and I when I say that we are both for the equal treatment and peaceful coexistence with the mutants and the metahumans in the USA. It saddens us both that the Bush administration is not actively speaking for the metahumans as the President and his cabinet are obviously anti metahumans," said Barack Obama. "I liken the fight of the mutants like the struggle of Dr. Martin Luther King to Xavier's group while I think this Magneto character is more of a Malcolm X."

"Barry is correct. The President should have spoken out earlier about the issue a long time ago. If he did, the anti metahuman movement would not have gained the momentum it currently has. You have my word that whoever wins the election will help the metahumans in their problems," said Kerry.

"Thank you; I see a bright future for the humans and metahumans. Please enjoy yourself in the party, I have to mingle and I know both of you need to do so as well."

As he was walking to the bar, he noticed the Black Widow sitting on one of the corner stools of the bar wearing a very provocative dark blue dress. He smirked and decided to approach her.

"I'd like a butterbeer please," Harry asked the elf bartender before greeting the spy. "Good evening, my name is Harry Potter, thank you for coming to my company's gala, Miss..."

"Rushman, Natalie Rushman. This party has been wonderful so far."

"I am glad you like it. Did you come here with someone?"

"No, unfortunately my date cancelled on me. I wanted to donate to the Veteran's Fund so I came without him. How about you?"

"I did not bring a date tonight but perhaps, if it is not too presumptuous, you will allow me to be your escort for this evening, my lady."

"Why thank you, good sir, for taking pity on a poor helpless damsel," Natalie answered with a seductive smile.

"Pity? I think not. I am sure such a beautiful woman such as yourself would have many men vying for your attention. I consider myself lucky that you deigned to allow me to escort you tonight. Shall we?" Harry offered his arm which Natalie gladly accepted. "So, Miss Rushman, what do you do?"

"I am a corporate lawyer here in Manhattan. By the way, this white wine is excellent."

"Thank you, they were made my vineyard in Napa." He noticed a dark haired man with a goatee and a red head approach them at the bar.

"This is quite a party, I'm Tony Stark and this is my associate Virginia Potts," said the black haired man.

"Pleased to meet you, Mr. Stark, Ms. Potts. I'm Harry Potter, please call me Harry. Thank you for coming."

"It is for a good cause. Please call me Pepper and I'm sorry for interrupting." She smiled after glaring at her boss. "Tony just couldn't wait to meet one of investors, can't you, Tony?"

"It is not a problem and compared to Mr. Stark's shares in the company, mine is very small."

"It's just Tony, I'm sure the company will give excellent dividends, especially after we unveil the upcoming Jericho missile. Anyway, I came here for the booze and I must say it is better than the best of your competition."

"I'll make sure to send you a sampler of our liquors, Tony."

"See, Pepper? He knows how to treat his customers. You're a good man, Harry."

"I think Tony here will be one of your biggest customers if your other drinks are like the champagne I'm having. I like the chocolates with truffles myself," said Pepper while looking inquiringly at Natalie.

"I'm sorry, this is Miss Natalie Rushman. Miss Rushman, these are Miss Virginia Potts and Mr. Tony Stark."

"A pleasure to meet you both," said Natalie.

"Looks like we both have a thing for fiery hair, right Harry?" Tony raised his heavy crystal scotch glass at Natalie.

"I found that most red haired women I've met are strong willed and very passionate. I like that in a woman and I am lucky enough that Natalie has graciously allowed me to be her escort this evening."

"I'll take that as a compliment, Harry. I'll take Tony here and guide him to the jewelry displays. I'm sure we can talk some more in a few days. We are interested in the silks that you use for your clothing line."

"Here is my card. While I am initially thinking of using the silks exclusively for 'Harry's,' I am confident we can work something out." He gave Pepper his business card and accepted hers.

"Have a good evening Harry. It was nice to meet you both," said Pepper before dragging Stark to the jewelry displays. Tony just waved goodbye at them.

"An interesting pair, don't you think?" Commented Harry.

"I'm sure there's a story there. Could you tell me more about the silks Pepper was talking about?"

"Let's go to the display and I'll show you." Harry led Natalie to the booth showing the bolts of silks and some of their finished products. "While these silks cannot stop bullets, they are tough enough to stand against a knife thrust and they are heavily resistant to fires. They are extremely light and allows the body to breathe unlike Kevlar. They are easy to clean and can be washed using hot or cold water without shrinking or fading. It is even dust and stain resistant. Here, touch it and try this K-Bar knife and cigarette lighter on it." He handed the knife and lighter to Natalie.

Natalie was amazed at the resistance of the silk against the knife and the fire. It took her five thrusts on a specific spot to puncture the silk and she felt little heat against the silk even if the lighter has been lit under the silk for thirty seconds.

"I know that the products made from the silks may be priced quite a bit higher than normal silks, I hope the customers will appreciate that the Potter silk products afford them a level of protection you can only get from the heavy body armors."

"I hope you filled your patents for them because many of your competitors will be trying to imitate your silk, even countries will do the same."

"I did register the trade marks on the Potter Silk name and logo but I went with the trade secret thing on the composition of the silks. Patent protection will only protect me for a few years while the trade secret thing will keep it safe forever or until I release it to the public which I have no plans to do so."

"You are pretty sure of yourself, Harry. Corporate espionage is an extremely difficult problem for business owners. I should know."

"About what, espionage?" Harry smirked at Natalie. "You would make a very attractive spy. If you were to spy on me, why I do not see myself resisting for too long. Well, maybe it would depend on the interrogation technique." He laughed, letting Natalie think he was joking. "They are all welcome to try and duplicate the Potter Silk; they may even succeed since it its physically very similar to normal silks. However I very much doubt that they can replicate the unique characteristics of my silks."

Natalie was startled and a bit taken a back at Harry's spy joke but aside from a slight change in her eyes, she showed no other visible reaction from it. She laughed a bit and replied, "You make a very interesting target, Harry. These innovations of yours, especially the 'potions' as you call them, are revolutionary. Speaking as a corporate lawyer, they will attract the ire of your competitors. I hope you are ready for them."

"Thank you for your concerns, Natalie, and I appreciate them. I believe I have more than adequate security." Harry smiled at her while inwardly thinking 'you are one of them.' "Now, let Hilly here take your measurements, choose a style and color for my gift to you as appreciation for your concern for my company. She will have the dress ready for you and I will have it delivered tomorrow. I think emerald green will be a good color for your flawless white skin."

"Thank you, Harry, but I do not think I can accept your gift."

"Nonsense. It is just a small token just don't let the other women know I gave you a free dress, they might expect one too."

"Fine. Do you give all your girls dresses, hmm?" She asked Harry while touching his right bicep sensually.

"Just the ones I like, my lady. Would you do me the honor of dancing with me?"

"If you insist." She smiled back at Harry.

They danced to a slow romantic song before going Harry's table for dinner. They found themselves enjoying each other's company as they mingled with the other guests. Before the night ended, Harry exchanged business card with her and Harry promised to deliver her dress along with lunch.

"I had a lovely time tonight, Harry."

"So did I, Nat. Maybe we can share more times like this in the future. I'll see you tomorrow for lunch, my lady."

"Tomorrow then. Good night, Mr. Harry Potter."

"Good night, Miss Natalie Rushman." Before leaning in and kissing Natalie on the cheeks.

Harry knew that she was on him for information and Natasha knew she was only supposed to 'work' him but for some inexplicable reason, they both felt drawn strongly to one another. They both knew where the lines were drawn but they skirted the lines very closely this evening.

Back in Shield HQ

Natasha and Maria were walking from the latter's office before to the director's office. The hallways in the executive floor were empty aside from cleaners and the security people watching them.

"So, how was the gala?" Maria asked her friend.

"It was nice. Harry was such a gentleman." Natasha couldn't hide the small smile that appeared on her face.

"I can tell you had a good time. Harry, huh?"

"Yes, I did," Nat gave her a short reply.

"And?! Come on, I need details!"

"You can hear it at the same time as Fury."

Nat knocked before going in to the director's office. She saw Fury sitting on his couch, enjoying a drink.

"Good evening, Director."

"Evening, Agent Romanoff, Agent Hill. Tell me about the evening's events, anything interesting to report?"

"I used the Natalie Rushman, corporate lawyer identity. Mr. Potter himself approached me first while getting his drink at the bar as I was discretely surveying the guests. The guests were the usual rich, famous and powerful people from different industries, only Tony Stark and his assistant Pepper Potts were the only ones Shield is interested in. It turns out Mr. Potter owns about 1% of the total shares of Stark Industries though Stark was interested mainly with the alcoholic products of Mr. Potter. Ms. Potts and Mr. Potter exchanged business cards to talk sometime next week about the Potter Silks."

"I can see Stark's interest in the liquors. I got a bottle of his scotch, which is better than Glenlivet's Single Malt, and about a dozen of his low alcohol butterbeers when I sent someone to pick up the medicine samples earlier. Here, try one." Fury went to his mini fridge and got a bottle of butterbeer each for Nat and Maria. "Did you learn what Stark and Potter might discuss?"

"It was actually Miss Potts' idea. Mr. Potter will be retailing custom line of clothing for men and women made from what he calls 'Potter Silk.' He demonstrated the special qualities like heavy puncture resistance and fire proofing. I was allowed to use a K-Bar knife and a regular cigarette lighter on the thin material and I must admit it took a few tries before I was able to puncture the material and I only felt a small amount of heat when I used the lighter for thirty seconds to test for fire resistance. The material is dust and stain resistant. It can be washed with cold or hot water without effects like shrinking or fading. It also a fabric which lets the body breathe. The women guests were given scarves made from this silk so the research department can test it further. Harry also had a dress made for me in this material."

"Harry, huh? He gave you a dress for free?"

"Yes. He will be bringing me the dress along with lunch tomorrow in Natalie Rushman's apartment in Manhattan."

"Just to clarify, you have a Sunday lunch date with the target, Black Widow?"

"That is correct, Director. It is just a way to get in further with Harry. He is very confident that no one will be able to imitate his products so I want to look into things further. I warned him about the dangers of corporate espionage in my capacity as a corporate law specialist. He just made a joke that if spies were like me, he just might like more of them to come to him."

"See that it remains nothing more than a professional interest, Agent Romanoff. The dress will be a good specimen to test."

"Director, I will not be giving the dress up to Shield. It is a very pretty dress and if Harry and I continue to go out, he will naturally expect me to wear it."

"So there may be more of these 'dates' in the future? I must ask you about your objectivity here, agent. Harry Potter is a very interesting man and I do not want one of my best agents to fall for his emerald eyes!"

"Director, while I must admit that Harry is a 'catch,' I have proven time and time again that I am a professional. I have not yet failed on a mission like this. Besides, it's only our first date. Now if you will excuse me, I have to go to Natalie Rushman's apartment."

"Alright, fine. You are both free to go."

"Good night, Director." Maria spoke for the first time during the entire meeting while Nat just nodded goodbye at Fury. As the door was closing, Fury realized Black Widows words.

"First date?!"

Natalie Rushman's apartment in Manhattan

"Sooo, did you two kiss tonight?" Agent Hill asked Agent Romanoff.

"He kissed me but it was just a kiss good night on the cheeks. Nothing torrid or anything like you are thinking, you pervert!"

"Look at me Nat. I am a pretty, intelligent and single woman in NYC working in a spy agency. It is really hard to get a life, you know. You're in the same boat as I am but you have more opportunities since you go out in the field while I'm stuck in the office. I have to screen whomever I date even more thoroughly than the First Daughter. My mother keeps on asking me if I have any plans to give her grandkids in the near future. I might have to leave Shield to have a life so while my sense of duty is still strong; I plan on living vicariously through you. Besides, I have not seen that twinkle in your eyes since you and Clint broke up ages ago."

"Look, Mar, there is nothing going on! He is just dropping off the dress and as it will be lunch time, we will be dining together here. I promise to tell you if there's more okay?"

"Okay. I'll hold you to that promise. Seriously Nat, have you thought about the future? I mean I am in my early thirties while you are in your actually I'm not sure about you. You look to be in your late twenties. Are we going to grow old still doing this job like Director Fury?"

"I still have the dream of settling down, having a husband and maybe two kids, living a boring life but the man still remains faceless. I have a bit longer than you do to look for him because of the experiments done on me by Red Room. It is one of the factors why dating and marrying a guy is so hard. I might not be immortal but I was born before the Second World War and yet I still look like a young woman. Unless there are more people like me that I can get along with, I do not see my dream becoming a reality in the near future. Even if I do overcome that impossible aging hurdle, the experiments by Red Room made me infertile. What man would marry a woman who cannot give him his own children?"

"I'm sorry Nat. I didn't mean for my issues to bring out your own."

"It's okay, Mar. Forget about it."

"Let's just talk about this dress your Harry will be delivering tomorrow."

"Now he's 'my Harry?' Anyway, it's emerald green which was Harry's suggestion and I chose a simple design like the Chinese dresses women in Chinatown use but more elegant and formal. It will be perfect to wear as a formal dress."

"Speaking of emeralds, did you get a good look at those eyes? They look even look smoldering on a picture!"

"A look? I honestly can't keep myself from staring into them. It's like he can see right through you with those deep emerald eyes of his. I was a bit self-conscious for a few minutes when he first approached me because I was afraid my cover was blown."

"What else did you do at the party?"

"We danced a few songs in between mingling with the guests. He is a great dancer, he moves so fluidly you'd think he was trained by professionals. When I asked him about it, he just shrugged it off and said he had some lessons in England."

"You know, I am pretty glad that I have another woman I can talk to in this job. Sure, we are tough enough to go head to head with the guys; it doesn't mean we always talk about guns."

"Same here. Many of the guys we meet in our line of work think we are either lesbians or we are sluts who behave like them as in we engage in 'wham bam thank you ma'am' regularly. I would be the first to admit I've had my fair share of one night stands but it's not like I bed every hot guy I meet. I still have a soft side that wants to be wooed. I wonder how Carol Danvers is doing. You and her are the only two women I can talk to in Shield."

"I miss her too. I lost touch with her after she quit SWORD. Rumor has it she's out of the hero business and works as a pilot for charter jets. Anyway, I better get home. See you tomorrow; I'll be bringing popcorn while I watch you and your Harry have lunch on the surveillance cams."

"Fine. See you tomorrow, Mar."

The Next Day, Harry's Penthouse

Harry woke up later than his usual seven AM due to the previous evening's gala. He had a few hours to kill before he needed to be in Natalie's apartment besides, it was within walking distance. He decided to check on his email to see if his head hunters have found new employees for his businesses.

One of his priorities was to find two pilots for the private jet he ordered, the Gulfstream G550. While he has his international commercial pilot license, the G550 needs two pilots at the helm at all times. Granted, he can be one of the pilots but since he can teleport all over the world, he would just be teleporting to and from the plane once it lands on its destination with the jet acting as his cover, he doesn't want to be stuck in the plane for hours on end. Now that he has businesses all over the world, he can finally justify owning a private jet. He does not want to be stuck flying commercial with all the hassle and delays that came with it. One of the elves can function as his flight attendant. He originally planned to have two of the elves get legal commercial pilot licenses but none of them wanted to do so and he does not want to force them.

He got an email from the head hunter regarding a pair of highly qualified pilots. Both were from the US Air Force. One was a guy named Jon Riley and the other was named Carol Danvers. Riley was a typical fighter jock who retired instead of being transferred from fighters to flying VIPs in the military version of the G550. He got along well with Danvers even though he once tried to hit on her, she turned him down gently, which luckily did not affect their partnership. Harry couldn't blame Riley for trying his luck with Danvers as the lady pilot had a beautiful face with blue eyes and long blonde hair, he was sure Carol Danvers had a killer body underneath the flight suit she was wearing in the file photo taken from her time in the military.

They would both be in Teterborough Airport tomorrow so they can meet Harry for an interview in NYC. Harry replied that he is available to meet them for lunch at Katz's; he would be killing two birds with one shot as he hasn't eaten there for a few weeks. Thinking about food made Harry remember that he was supposed to be bringing lunch with him so he decided to call Natalie to ask if what she wanted.

"Good morning, Natalie. It's Harry from last night."

"Well good morning to you too, Harry from last night."

"I walked into that one. I just wanted to know what time you want me to come over and what kind of food you wanted."

"Any time is fine, really. You can come over now if you want. About the food, you can surprise me. Nothing fancy though. Simple works for me."

"Mixed greens then some chicken and pasta sound good?"

"That actually sounds great. Where are you buying them?"

"Buying them? I'll be cooking lunch from scratch for us."

"Wow. Great guy can cook too? This I have to see."

"Want me to cook over there? You can come over here if you want."

"I better go over there. I have a microwave since I don't cook and the stove gets used mostly for heating water. Text me your address, okay?"

"Sure, my place isn't too far from your apartment. See you in a bit okay?"

"Okay. Do you want me to bring anything?"

"Nah. Just bring your wonderful self over and I'll take care of the rest. Take care."

"I will. Bye."

Since he had to wait for Natalie to arrive, he went back to answering his email after texting Natalie his address and calling Ernesto the doorman to let him know he was expecting a guest. Harry was puzzled as to why he got to an email from the Queen's secretary asking if he still had his family's letter of patent. She wrote that the Queen wanted to 'study' it and if he still had it, he should bring it to the British Ambassador to the UN's office. He just shrugged it off and replied that he would be sending it tomorrow.

The ding of his private elevator stop Harry's musings about the letters of patent and he moved to the foyer to greet his guest.

"Harry? I'm here," called out Natalie.

"Hey. Thanks for coming," Harry thought a handshake was too formal, besides he wanted to kiss her again even if it was just on the cheeks so he gave her a quick hug and kissed her cheek.

"No problem, your building was easy to find. You smell good, I mean, the food smells good. I thought you're gonna show me?" Natalie blushed at her slip, embarrassed; it was like she was a little girl with a crush.

"I am just finished baking our dessert. It would take too long if i cook it after our main course. By the way, thanks, you smell good too." He smiled. "It will be a couple minutes more before the chocolate fudge is done, do you want tour of the house first or do you want to go ahead and get started on our lunch?"

"A tour first, not really hungry yet."

"As you wish."

Harry gave a tour of his huge apartment which ended at the kitchen. They talked of inconsequential things while Natalie sipped a mimosa and Harry cooked their lunch. They decided to eat on the deck since the weather was cooperating. While they were having coffee and the fudge which she loved Natalie talked about her life.

"I've just quit my job at the firm. I felt like I need a few months to just rest and relax as I haven't had a vacation since I graduated and joined the firm. It's like I'm losing my love for the hustle and bustle of being a lawyer so I quit before I burned out and completely lost my passion for the law."

"I can see where you're coming from; I felt some of the same things you are describing so I got out of the diplomat thing at the UN. When I found out these family secrets like the herbal meds, I thought maybe I can help make the world a better place. It may sound a bit trite but I honestly think this can make a difference. It will be a tad expensive when I start selling the things but it is not really for profit kind of thing. I will use the profits to give back to the communities. It's an ambitious plan but I am confident I can make it work. I'm sorry, I got off on a tangent, I just feel very passionate about it."

"No, Harry. It's really good that you want to help out; if more people think like that, maybe the world can be a better place. I love that you that enthusiasm to go for it instead of being a bum. I mean others might just travel and have fun with the kind of money you have." Natalie meant what she said; she has met a lot of men and women born into money who just relied on their trust funds. It showed her the kind of character Harry had and she admired him for it.

They talked some more with Harry telling her about his plans for PHM like the things he plans to build in the compounds, it is not really a secret so he felt okay sharing those things. Maybe it might even get Shield back off more, not that he minded spending time with Natalie.

"Not that I did not enjoy our conversation but I want to see you in the dress Hilly made. It slipped my mind because we were having such a nice time just talking. So, do you want to try it on?" Harry asked Natalie.

"Yeah, I forgot about the dress too. Lead the way, Mr. Potter."

Harry led her to the spare guest room where Hilly left the dress and accessories she picked to go with the dress. Harry thought it be presumptuous if he asked her to change in his bedroom.

Natalie smirked playfully at Harry when she noticed he followed her into the guest room. "Um, Harry, not that I am a prude or something but I don't think we're at the stage where I can just change in front of you. Could you wait in the sitting room for me? I promise to model the dress for you if you want." She laughed at Harry's blush and quick exit from the room while stammering an apology. She found that the dress came with matching shoes, bag, and a fine embroidered Potter Silk shawl. There was a full body mirror wherein she looked at herself for a minute before going out of the room to show Harry.

"Wow. I think I just found the new face for 'Harry's', do you want the job?" Harry jokingly said to Natalie as she obliged him with a slow twirl to show off the dress and her beautiful figure.

"Thanks for the confidence boost Harry but I will be going back to law in a month or two."

"I know. You really do look good in that dress and I'm going to tell Hilly that she did a good job with the dress and accessories."

"Harry, she did an excellent job but I can't accept the bag, shoes and shawl too, it's too much."

"Nonsense. They look good on you and it will offend Hilly if you do not take it. Trust me when I say it did not cost much as they are all my company's products and I won't take no for an answer."

"Oh alright. They do look goon me, don't they?" She smiled a bit cockily at Harry.

"They do. It's like they should be shown to the public so how about dinner and dancing tomorrow night?"

"See, I knew there was a catch but sure dinner would be lovely, how about seven-ish?"

"That will be perfect."

"Harry as much fun as I've had spending time with you today, I have to get going. I have a ton of laundry waiting for me and it's laundry day. I'll go get changed in to my normal clothes."

After she go changed, Harry walked her to the elevator before giving her a sweet good by kiss, this time on the lips and a lot longer than just a smack though he stayed away from a full on French.

"Goodbye, Harry. See you tomorrow, alright?"

"Until tomorrow evening, Nat." Harry replied as the elevator closed. He closed his eyes, leaned on a wall and murmured, "Bugger, I'm in trouble."

Back at Shield HQ

"How was your lunch, Agent Romanoff? Did you enjoy your date?" Director Fury asked his agent.

"Yes, sir." Natasha absentmindedly answered her superior. "I mean it was informative, Director." She backpedalled after realizing who she was talking to.

"I see. And what did you learn? For that matter, I also need to know why you did not follow the plan where he goes to your apartment instead of you going into his."

"He offered to cook for me and since from what I gave learned from his file, no one was able to get in to his penthouse apartment when you tried to do a background check last year so I took the initiative. There was nothing that stands out from what I saw in his apartment. No security cameras or alarm system. There was a camera on the private elevator, in the lobby and I am guessing the four other elevators, I think they are the building's security and not his."

"I see. What else have you found out? You were there for some time."

"I learned that he taking delivery of his private jet, a G-550, this week and looking for two pilots. He has two pilots he will be interviewing at Katz's Deli tomorrow during lunch. Both were former US Air Force officers, one male and one female. He is also dropping by the British Ambassador to the UN's office tomorrow morning to drop off some documents for the queen. When I asked what they were, he just said they were old Potter family papers. He dismissed it as a whim by the Queen."

"Hmm, if he doesn't hire those two pilots maybe we can get at least one Shield agent hired for the job. What else can you tell me?"

"He told me some of his plans for PHM. He is planning to build compounds in various cities which will hold an orphanage, a school, and a hospital along with some buildings for selling and storing his meds, apartments and cafeterias for his employees and their family. The orphanage, hospital and school, which is up to high school, will be free and funded by PHM. He says they will be accepting people from all walks of life with no bias to their race, creed or status. He knows it is an aggressive and ambitious plan but he is confident that he can push it through. He will be putting in almost all of the profits coming from the medicines into the compounds instead of pocketing it. His main income would come from 'Harry's,' the luxury goods stores he has opened in the shopping capitals of the world."

"It is an ambitious plan. You are quite good at reading people, agent Romanoff. What do you think, is he telling the truth? Does he have some ulterior motive?"

"I think what he is doing is an admirable thing. He is telling the truth and I see money from PHM and the compounds as a means to gain power and influence by being seen as the good guy, and while I think he has a deeper agenda, I think it is benign."

"It is also my belief though this is the first time I heard of his long term plans. I guess the meeting with the president soured him from discussing it with them so he might be waiting for the next guy before announcing it. Good job, Agent Romanoff."

"Thank you. I will see what else I can learn tomorrow evening."

"Tomorrow evening?"

"Yes sir. I agreed to go out with him for dinner tomorrow night."

"Agent Romanoff, is there something I need to know? Are you becoming emotionally involved with the target?"

"I am simply following through with my job. He might reveal more information this way."

"I see. I want you to bring some listening devices with you on the off chance that you get inside his penthouse again." At Natasha's nod, Fury said, "Alright, dismissed."

Maria was waiting for her in Fury's reception room. "Come to my office, you have to tell me everything." Maria then dragged Natasha into her office. Once inside the office she closed the door quickly before saying "Spill it."

"Good afternoon to you to, Maria. How are you doing?"

"Shut it. I want details. I am in the office on a Sunday so you have to throw me a bone here. I was expecting to watch you two in the apartment but no, you had to go over to his place instead."

"He offered to cook so naturally, I had to see that for myself and the apartment's kitchen is not equipped like his is. He moves like an expert and his kitchen is professional quality. Let me tell you, his fudge is delicious. I have some if you want."

"Gimme." Maria moaned at the taste. "God, you can taste the truffles in this. I mean actually taste it. Good looks, smart rich and he can cook too?!"

"I know, he's quite the catch."

"You better hold on to him, Nat. What else happened?"

"I told him my 'story' and he told me of his plans for the medicines once it gets FDA approval. It is ambitious but I think he can pull it off. I really like his plans for the compounds; it will help a lot of people. You can read about it in my report later."

"Fine. Let me see the dress."

"He also gave me matching shoes, a handbag and a shawl to go along with the dress." Natasha showed Maria things Harry gave her.

"Wow these are gorgeous, Nat, nice for a night out."

"Actually he asked me to wear them for our date tomorrow evening."

"Another date huh? It seems things are progressing nicely."

"That's my problem, it's like too good to be true, he's what every woman would want."

"Nat, don't jinx it, just go with the flow."

"Oh I will. Its just he kissed me on the lips earlier and I know I'm in trouble."

"How was it?"

"It felt right, magical even, which is silly, it was not even really a French kiss."

"He's a classy guy then. Most guys would just shove their tongue down your throat and think it's romantic."

"I was still thinking about it when I was talking to Fury. He sarcastically asked me if I enjoyed my date and I said 'Yes, sir.' I had to think fast to cover my slip." Maria just laughed at Natasha's gaffe.

"Hey, at least you are not being reassigned."

"Yeah. I kinda feel bad about spying on him now and according to Fury, next time I go to his place, I better make sure I have some bugs I can plant there."

"I feel for you, Nat, but just look at it this way; if you plant the bugs you can get to know him better, see if he is the guy you really want."

"It just feels like invasion of privacy which it really is but you know, your reasoning makes sense in a cynical sort of paranoid way."

"It's just the way the intelligence world goes, Nat. You better go and finish your report."

"Yeah, yeah. You just want to read it for more juicy stuff."

"Is there any more juicy stuff?" Maria shamelessly grinned at Natasha.

"Mar you really need to get out more and no there are no other juicy parts, you shameless gossip."

"You say gossip, I call it intel. See you later, Nat, and leave the fudge for your poor friend who has no life."

Back at Harry's Penthouse

Harry received a txt message from Natalie as she was waiting to report to Fury.

'Got home okay. I had a great afternoon with you. Thanks for everything. See you tomorrow.

XOXO Nat.'

Harry just smiled a goofy grin that got him a good ribbing from Winky and her husband Dobby.

"Harry and Natalie, sitting on a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" The two teased Harry.

"It's just a kiss, guys. No biggie."

"So that's why you are still smiling like a loon," replied Dobby.

"Hush, husband. Let's leave Harry alone, let him think some more on the kiss he got from Miss Romanoff." She said to Dobby with a smirk.

"Thank you Winky." He did not notice Winky's smirk.

"No problem, Harry. Maybe she will give us little Potters to spoil. Oh I hope it's a baby boy!" Winky laughed hard at Harry's expression.

"You are just too easy, Harry. Seriously, we're happy for you. It's about time you go out and have fun," commented Dobby.

"Thanks guys, but it is really too early to say what this is. Now, go and make your own babies instead on picking on me!"

The two elves just laughed before popping off to Napa.

The next day, he dropped the letters of patent at the embassy and stopped by to chat with a few of his friends during his UN days. He promised to send them some of the chocolates from Harry's before going back to his car. On his way to the car, he received a call from an unregistered number on his private mobile.

"Hello, who is this?"

"I'm sorry for calling your private number, Mr. Potter. This is Pepper Potts from Stark Industries."

"Oh, hello, Miss Potts. How can I help you?"

"Please, it's just Pepper, remember?"

"Sorry, Pepper, call me Harry then."

"Alright. I just want to ask if you have some time this week to come over here in Los Angeles. Tony wanted to talk to you about the Potter Silk."

"I don't see a problem with that. Will this Friday be alright with you, say three o' clock in the afternoon?"

"That would actually be great. Please bring some samples of the silk if you do not mind."

"Not a problem, Pepper. Friday it is then."

"Thanks, Harry. See you on Friday."

Maybe he would ask Natalie tonight whether she wants to come along and maybe she can join him too in Paris for the gala this Saturday, Harry mused.

Hopefully he will be able to hire the two pilots he is meeting later since he got an email from the Gulfstream people last night that the G-550 will be arriving this afternoon at Teterborough Airport. If he can hire them today, they can help Harry inspect the plane later and they can give him their recommendations on what else they need to have bought for the hangar. He has already hired mechanics temporarily on the recommendation of Teterborough Airport's personnel manager along with the rented equipment they will need for the jet's maintenance. He plans to buy new equipment once he gets input from the pilots and he will hire the mechanics permanently if they all work together well.

Harry arrived at Katz's Deli five minutes before the appointed time to see that the two pilots were already there. Carol Danvers was a tall beautiful blonde and, as Harry predicted, sexy as only a woman in uniform can be. Jon Riley was a bit more vertically challenged at five foot two inches baby faced with a shaved pate and goatee.

"Captain Danvers and Captain Riley, I presume? I am your prospective employer, Harry Potter."

"Good afternoon, Mr. Potter," said the two pilots in unison.

"Just call me Harry. Is this place okay for you two? Let me just buy a pastrami sandwich and we can transfer if you want."

"No, this is fine. We were both looking forward to eating their pastrami sandwiches too." Danvers replied.

"Really, we're off to a good start then. Let me go and order them for us. Cokes alright?"

"Sure, that would be great," said the diminutive Riley.

"Give me a minute to get the food and drinks then we can discuss things."

"Hey, Jerome, can I get 3 pastramis, 2 onion rings 1 fried and 3 cokes?" Harry ordered from Jerome the day shift manager. "Sure, man. I'll have it send over ASAP. Thanks for the chocolates for the wife. Got me out of the doghouse right quick."

"No worries, man. Just visit the shop if you want more. I'll give you the special Katz's employee discount. Fifty percent off chocolates, liquor and cigars and twenty five percent off everything else." Harry handed over $100 for his bill and tips. "Keep the change, Jerome, say hi to the missus for me."

"Thanks for the tip and store discount, Harry. You're a good man."

"Just keep making great sandwiches and we're good."

"They love you here huh?" commented Riley.

"I'm a regular here; the pastrami is the best I've tasted. I just haven't been here for a few weeks; I got busy with the stores and everything."

"Same here. We were surprised that you asked to meet here. Our usual clients are a bit more, well, picky for lack of a better word," said the beautiful blonde pilot.

"They don't know good food then. I like to steaks and lobsters as much as the next guy but a nice simple sandwich is food for the soul."

"I hear ya, Harry," said Riley.

"Please tell me some relevant information about your jobs," requested Harry.

"I am sure most of this will be in the resume so I'll just give the highlights. I was in the US Air Force for ten years. I got out with the rank of Captain. I flew fighters in my first two years out of the Academy then I was a test pilot for the rest," said Carol.

"I was three years ahead of Carol in the Academy and I flew fighters for four years then I got transferred to bombers until I retired because I did not want to fly VIPs so I got out of the Air Force and now I fly VIPs for a lot more money than as a Captain in the Air Force and fewer people to salute and all that." Riley grinned.

"I understand that you are both experienced with the G-550?"

"We both have a few hundred hours on the G-550 and also some time on the Cessna Citation X. The G-550 is a lot more comfortable and has longer range but the Citation X is a lot faster than the Gulfstream," answered Carol.

"Good. So, I am looking for two pilots who will work for me full time. I will be flying the jet occasionally but it would mostly be two of you flying the jet. I've passed all my certifications on the G-550 and I'm a licensed pilot so don't worry. I will be providing you both with a fully furnished apartment each a few minutes away from Teterborough. The usual uniforms, medical, dental, travel insurance coverage and such will of course be shouldered by the company, Potter Holdings Inc. You will be given a generous allowance every month and two company credit cards each. One will be for your expenses incurred while abroad and one will be for the plane's gas, airport fees and such. How much do you make in a year?"

"We make around $120,000 on a good year, Harry," answered Riley.

"I'll start you off at the same amount. It will be steady employment instead of waiting for clients."

"That's fine with me," said Carol. Riley nodded his assent.

"We would be flying mostly to London, Paris, Tokyo and Teterborough of course. I have a vineyard in Napa so I visit there at least once a month. The one thing I cannot guarantee is your days off. I can give you one day off a week and you cannot be off at the same day. It shouldn't be a problem as we will not be flying every day and I will try to give at least two hours' notice before we fly so I wouldn't disrupt your personal lives as much as possible. I will not require you to spend the entire day at the hangar's office but I expect you to be within two hours driving distance of the hangar if it is not your day off. Is that agreeable to both of you?" They were all finished with their meal by now.

"That sounds reasonable," said Carol who has become the spokesperson for the two pilots.

"Good. While I do not condone mixing drinking alcohol and flying, in the event that you are intoxicated and I need your services, I will give you a 'flushing potion' which will flush out the alcohol from your system along with a 'hangover potion' that will sober you up and cure any hangover that you have. I must warn you though that the flushing potion will remove whatever foreign body is in your system, it will not be pretty or a pleasant experience so I would not recommend drinking too much. Do you have any other questions?"

"Who will be making the arrangements for the hotels if we travel abroad?" asked Carol.

"I will be making the arrangements with that. I have an understanding with the hotels in the cities that has a 'Harry's' and the credit card company's concierge service should be able to handle the other cities. We would not have that problem in Napa as I have a few guest houses you can use there."

"I would very much like to be one of your pilots, Harry," said Carol. "So would I," said Riley.

"It is settled then. I would be taking delivery of the plane in two hours and I will have your contracts and the standard confidentiality agreements tomorrow morning. In the meantime, I would have your expert opinions on the hangar, mechanics and equipment the hangar needs to function and maintain the jet. Will you be amenable to working today in that capacity? I would of course be willing to pay you for your time this afternoon."

"We would be happy to do that for free, Harry. We appreciate your willingness to take our opinion into consideration unlike the clients we usually have."

"Thank you for your help then. The plane should be in Teterborough in an hour or so. Did you bring a car with you? I can drive us all there in my car if you did not."

"We'll ride with you, we took a taxi to come here," said Riley.

They arrived at the hangar before the plane did so they inspected the place and the equipment first. It turns out that the pilots and the maintenance crews knew each other, so on their recommendation; Harry put the mechanics on the payroll too. He authorized them to order the necessary tools they would need for the hangar and the plane.

The jet arrived an hour after they did. While it was normally configured for about 14 to 19 passengers excluding the 2 pilots. Harry had it configured for up to 12 passengers excluding him since Harry had his own private space which had its own private toilet. The plane had its own galley and a passenger's toilet behind the cockpit. It had a cruise speed of 904 km/h and a range of 12,500 km so it can go from NYC to Tokyo in one nonstop flight. It had state of the art navigation, communication and entertainment systems.

After he was done inspecting the plane with the pilots, Harry teleported to his home while carrying his shrunken car in his pocket. He noticed that as he spent more time in this reality, his magic barely affected electronics anymore unless he consciously wanted to overload a device, a 'stupefy' works great for this. He found this out accidentally when he shrunk his clothes while his mobile phone was still in it. Too bad he only discovered it a few months before he quit the UN. This was a relief to Harry, while he has an extremely high degree of control over his magic; he found suppressing his magical aura to be a bit uncomfortable. It was also a hassle to be unable to shrink his laptop before. He worked his way gradually from the more basic to more sensitive things like his laptop before he tried it on his car; it was a Mercedes after all.

At Natalie's Apartment

Harry knocked on her door which opened to a vision of beauty, Natalie was wearing Harry's gifts and she looked ravishing. She just put on some light make up and did her hair in a simple chignon.

"Well, say something. You are making me self-conscious, Harry."

"You are very beautiful, Natalie. I was temporarily speechless. Here, I brought you some flowers."

"Thank you for the compliment. The flowers look great, let me just put in some water. Please come in."

Harry walked in after her and closed the door. While the apartment was quite small in comparison to his, it was still pretty nicely done in modern style.

"You have a nice place, Natalie.

"Thank you. I like things simple and as you can see, the kitchen still looks pristine since I barely use it. Shall we go? You still haven't told me where we're going."

"It's a surprise but I'll give you a hint. Lobsters."

"Harry! What kind of a hint is that? There are hundreds of seafood restaurants here in New York."

"Well, just be patient, it will be worth it. It is one of the best after all."

"Fine, let's just go. I shouldn't have told you that I love seafood."

Natalie was impressed when they got to the restaurant. "You managed to get a reservation at Le Bernardin that quickly? You did not even know we were going out tonight before lunch yesterday. It usually takes a few days to get seats here and while I am sure the food here will be great, it is going to be expensive! You know you did not have to spend much to impress me."

"I know that but let's face it, I am not exactly poor so don't worry about it. The owner is a friend of my former boss so we got squeezed in. I promise you, the lobster and salmon here is great."

While they were eating their food, Harry told her about his day. "I finally got my jet this afternoon and I lucked out on hiring two great pilots. By the way, I have a trip to Los Angeles this Friday afternoon to meet with Pepper Potts and maybe Tony Stark and since you mentioned that you didn't have to go to work, maybe you can accompany me there then we can go to the Harry's gala in Paris this Saturday. What do you think?"

"I'm not sure this is such a good idea, Harry."

"I know we just met, Natalie, I am not expecting anything here and I just want to get to know you better. I usually get a suite when I travel so you don't have to worry about sharing a bed or something. I'll take one room and you can get the other one. Come on, join me in my jet's maiden voyage."

"Wouldn't it be awkward to bring me into a business meeting?"

"If it makes you feel better, I'll give Pepper a call or better yet, you can walk around LA and I'll meet you after my boring business meeting. It shouldn't take too long."

"Okay, I'll go with you. I just don't want us to move too fast, Harry, since we just met two days ago and we still don't know much about each other."

"I know, I am honestly just trying to spend some time with you and we'll see what happens. Does this mean you will go to Paris with me?"

"Yes, I'll go with you. Wait a minute; you just don't want to go without a date, don't you?" Natalie needled Harry to lighten the mood a bit.

"You got me there, but really, I know a kind and wonderful person like you wouldn't let me get lost in Paris. You are much too nice to do that to me." Harry gave her an exaggerated puppy dog act and Natalie favored him with a small laugh.

Harry took her dancing in a French bistro that night, 'to prepare' for their trip to Paris. He got to kiss Natalie a few time that night so they went home with a big smile.

Harry couldn't sleep so went to his study as he thought about the day's events. He was enjoying spending his time with Natalie Rushman and he is getting tired of watching what he says to her. He did his best to not invade her privacy but he couldn't help but 'feel' that she feels the same way for him, he knew Natalie is also feeling conflicted at the charades they are playing. He needed to find a way to clear the air between them, so to speak or the secrets will poison their relationship even before it started. Harry vowed to himself that he will not go further than kisses and hugs while they are still keeping secrets from each other.

Harry also focused on the information he gleaned from probing Carol Danvers's mind deeper than just the surface thoughts and he was amazed at what he saw in her mind. She used to be a part of Shield and she got her powers of flight, superhuman speed, stamina, durability along with energy projection and energy absorption from an alien device. She retired from active duty to hide these powers because she did not want to become a science experiment, not that she saw evidence of Shield undergoing metahuman experiments. She was able to control her powers so she is able to live a normal life. It will be fun to see what Natalie's reaction will be if it turns out that they know each other.

He figured he might as well get started on some of the files the head hunting firm he hired sent to him as he needed a more experienced hand to oversee the parent corporation for his companies, Potter Holdings Incorporated. One of the files he was perusing caught his eye; it was a file on an Emma Frost, a beautiful long haired blonde who is currently employed by one PHI's future rivals. Frost has an excellent educational background as she has a JD-MBA from Stanford and her work experience speaks for itself. Her family is quite wealthy but she ran away from them due to differences with her father. Harry asked the headhunters to schedule a meeting between the two of them within the week if possible.

He also received an email from Dr. Strange and one from Dr. Xavier. The contents of the emails were basically the same, they were interested to see if the nerve and paralysis potions he had can be of help with their physical disabilities, Strange for the nerve damage done on his hands from an accident he had a long time ago which ended his work as a neurosurgeon while Xavier for the paralysis of his lower body that resulted from a spinal injury as a young man. Harry asked both to come visit him at his penthouse on Wednesday morning. To his surprise, Xavier replied quickly to ask his permission to bring Jean Grey along with him; Harry replied that it would not be a problem.

He was almost done with his mail when the head hunters replied to his email that Frost was available to meet him tomorrow afternoon. He had a lunch appointment with Emma Frost.

The last item on his inbox was an email from the PHI's accountants which said that the expenses he incurred from the last month has blown through most of the budget Harry gave them. Whey still have a hefty sum of five million dollars, they just wanted to warn him regarding his spending. Harry was bemused at this since they also reported that the four luxury stores' first week of sales were very strong. They have already sold about $300,000 worth of merchandise during the first week and they expect this to hold while the weekly galas are happening. They did tell him that it would stabilize after about two months and it should increase as they near the holiday season. Harry should recoup the money he spent on the luxury stores in two months.

He went to sleep with a smile on his face.

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

After his usual morning routine, he visited the elves to let them know how the sales of their goods were progressing and of course check on their well-being. The elves were happy that the goods they produce have been selling like hot cakes but they were even more ecstatic that they can continue perfecting their trades with the practice they are getting. Overall, they have no concerns that need taking care of.

He went to the restaurant that was just a block away from his home at the appointed time for his lunch meeting and he spotted Frost immediately after entering the place. Harry felt an attempted intrusion on his mindscape; he did not have to look far for its source. He quickly cast a few subtle privacy wards as he knew this will be a very interesting conversation.

"Good afternoon, Miss Frost, I'm Harry Potter. You know, it does not look good on a prospective employee to use telepathy on her boss." Harry then pulled on the probed and followed it to Frost's mind where he quickly read her intentions while she was caught off guard by the rather forceful way he repelled the probe so she did not notice his own probe into her mind due to this.

"Ouch! I'm sorry for the invasion of your privacy, Mr. Potter. I just wanted to make sure that this is a real meeting, not a ploy by my father." She massaged her temples a bit.

"I will excuse you this time, Miss Frost. I do it too when meeting new people although I only read their surface thoughts to gauge their intensions."

"You're a telepath? Are you a mutant too?"

"Yes to both. Well, now that we have gotten that out of the way, let us order and we can talk while we wait for the food." He took down the privacy wards then signaled for the server. They continued their discussion once the man left with their orders.

"I find it tiring to dance around an issue and I am sure you value your time as much as I value mine so I will be blunt. Why should I hire you?"

"I am an expert in finance and the corporate world. As you have seen from my CV, I have started from the bottom and worked my way up the corporate ladder and no, I did not always use my powers to do so. I will not deny that my powers are an advantage but I do not use it as a crutch. I am not ashamed to say that I am very smart and some may say ruthless, I have to be to rise to where I am now."

"Good, you will need every tool you have at your disposal to help me achieve my goals. I'm sure you are following the recent trend of anti metahuman sentiment going around in the world. What are your thoughts on that issue?"

"I am a mutant so I am naturally against the discrimination those groups are espousing. I want the human races to coexist peacefully and as equals buy I fear that it may come to blows; maybe not an all-out war but there will definitely be some kind of battle before that vision is accomplished. I wish there was another approach instead of the two extremes like Xavier and Magneto. How about you?" Emma Frost challenged Harry to give his own views on the issue.

"I agree with you both in an equal and peaceful coexistence between both races along with wanting another option and I believe that I have found that elusive middle ground between the two extremes."

"What is your plan then?"

"Simple, I will make my corporation indispensable and I will make the governments see reason through it. I will tell you the broad strokes and I hope you will understand if I keep a few things secret for now." Harry gave her the public part of the pitch he gave the PM and the Queen.

"It just might work, Mr. Potter. Your expansion plans are quite ambitious but with a little luck, we should be able to pull it off, and please call me Emma."

"Please call me Harry then. I noticed you said 'we' there; are you taking the job without discussing the details?"

"Harry, I'm already a millionaire just from my savings and I still have a trust fund to supplement that. I am willing to take a big pay cut if it is for a good cause."

"How much are you making at your current job?"

"I make about $650,000 a year and about $300,000 in bonuses and such."

"Good thing you are willing to take a pay cut because I cannot match that and I'm afraid that my corporation will not be traded publicly. I can only offer a salary of $360,000 a year at least until PHM gets a good grip on the market; however, I will be able to offer you free clothing and accessories from the Harry's stores. We can renegotiate your contract at a later time when the company is more stable, is that agreeable to you?"

"I can work with that. Now what will be my duties?"

"You will be the President and Chief Operating Officer of Potter Holdings Inc. and Potter Herbal Medicines. I will take care of production and manufacturing, from the raw materials to the finished products. You will manage everything else from packaging the products to selling it along with the usual negotiations with the governments. I will be managing the four luxury stores personally. I just want you to start on what we need to reach the goals; I have already hired people to handle the smaller picture so our job is the bigger picture."

They left lunch early and they went to their Manhattan office. He showed her the office that adjoins his and introduced her to Mira the elf who will furnish her office to her specifications. He also introduced her to the marketing, sales and most importantly, the accountants who controlled the money, who once again reminded him that he must rein in his spending so he told them he will add an additional $3 million to the main PHI account and $1 million to Harry's just to shut them up. He had kept up his slow and cautious sale of precious metals and stones during the last two years so he has raised plenty of money in his Swiss and Cayman Islands accounts.

Wednesday May 14 2008

The elves had prepared a special sterile room in the penthouse that is filled with both magical and non-magical medical equipment that will serve as an infirmary for Harry, the elves or Harry's friends. It used to be a closet but Winky had it made long ago with generous usage of expansion charms for Harry just in case he runs into some trouble which happened often enough in his youth; there is always at least one elf healer on call from Elysium that ready for emergencies. This is where Harry and today's guests would be examined to see if it is possible to heal their disabilities.

Harry has just finished his breakfast after his daily training regimen when he was notified by the wards that Doctor Strange was in the elevator so he went to the foyer to welcome him. He installed a ward that would whisper to him the name of whoever entered the penthouse's private elevator.

"Good morning, Stephen. I am glad you can come."

"Good morning too, Harry. I was very excited when I heard of the medicines your company will be producing."

Harry led the way to the sitting room where Dobby had been setting up some refreshments. "Stephen, this is my loyal friend and butler, Dobby. Dobby, this is Doctor Stephen Strange, the Sorcerer Supreme of this dimension."

"Hello, Doctor Strange. Would you like some refreshments?"

"Please call me Stephen and coffee would be great, two sugars and a dash of milk please." Dobby served the drink and the left for the kitchen. Before the two magicals can start their discussion, the wards alerted Harry that Professor Charles Xavier and Doctor Jean Grey have entered the private elevator do he excused himself from Stephen.

"Good morning, Doctors."

"Good morning," replied the two guests in chorus.

"Please follow me; Dr. Strange had arrived a few minutes ahead of you."

"Charles, it has been long time, my friend," said Strange to the new arrivals.

"It is good to see you too, Stephen. Jean has graciously accompanied me here to see if Harry can help us, she is curious as well about the medicines Harry plans to sell," greeted Xavier.

"Doctor Xavier, Doctor Grey, this is my friend and butler Dobby. Dobby these are Doctor Charles Xavier and Doctor Jean Grey."

"Hello Doctors, may I get you some refreshments? We have coffee, tea and fresh fruit juices."

"Pleasure to meet you Dobby, I would like some orange juice," the red head said to Dobby.

"I thank you both for your hospitality, Harry and Dobby. Some English breakfast tea would be nice, Dobby." Dobby served the refreshments and left some pastries for the guests before withdrawing.

"Before we start, I would like to apologize to both of you. I was a bit frazzled with starting my two businesses that I forgot about the implications the medicines can do for your disabilities. Let me assure you that it was not done out of spite or any negative feelings."

"Don't worry about it too much, Harry, as it is not your fault. You have only met with me twice so I would not have expected you think of my condition," said the bald man.

"In my case, even if we did meet fairly often, I did not really disclose the fact that my hands are bothering me, you may have noticed I usually cast spells open handed. It does not hurt or anything like that, it just spasms a bit when I have to hold something like a pen for more than a few minutes."

"Thank you for your understanding. I would like to check on Stephen first, Is that alright with you, Charles? His condition is less extensive and I hope that if I can cure him first then he can help me with your prognosis."

"No, that will be fine Harry."

"Okay then, please follow me to my small infirmary. Dobby's wife, Winky, had it built for my use, I never can stay out of trouble in my youth so she had one of the rooms outfitted with both magical and non magical instruments and it is staffed by one of the elves specializing in healing."

"Elves? Are you saying Dobby and Winky are elves?" Jean asked.

"Did I not mention that before? When I arrived in this reality, I had a few elves with me and they are the most loyal magical beings you can find."

The three guests were amazed at the five bed infirmary and they could not reconcile that it all fit into Harry's penthouse apartment as spacious as it is. Harry just smiled at their faces before explaining it. "This room was originally a closet and I expanded the space using magic. You will find that magic will often times defy logic and some of the laws of physics. This is Carrie, she is one of the best elven healers, and she will be assisting me today," the elf smiled shyly at them.

"Please do not worry about germs as the doorway we passed through has removed any that came with you. This entire room is sterile and cleaner than any operating room found on Earth." He motioned Strange and Jean to the curtained changing rooms to wear scrubs. "Charles, I will be swapping your suit into scrubs using a basic switching spell." When Xavier gave his assent, Harry waved his hand to switch his clothes into the scrubs.

Strange was asked to lie down on one of the beds and his hands were examined by Harry using a magically projected real time image to see the damage on the nerves while Strange was asked by Harry to perform various movements to see why the nerves spasms and stings a bit if held in a specific way for long.

"As you can all see, these nerves are being constricted when Stephen performs certain movements. Luckily, using magic the damaged nerves can be repaired within an hour. Do I have your permission to heal it, Stephen?" Strange nodded his approval so Harry continued. "My nerve treatment potion could have easily treated this had it been used earlier. However, since this injury happened long ago, a more intensive mode of treatment will have to be done."

Harry explained what he was doing to the captive audience. "I am placing Stephen's fingers up to his shoulders in stasis so that it will not move while I am treating him because, based on my experience, what I am about to do is ticklish. I am also going to remove the damaged nerves so that we can regrow them using a potion. I have no plans of selling this to the public as they are unable to perform the magic I just did. Stephen, open your mouth and drink the potion Carrie will be giving you and yes I know that it tastes bad." They all laughed at Strange's facial expression, a mix of disgust and a grimace. "As you can see from the projected image, healthy nerves are slowly growing back to replace those I have removed. It will take about an hour to completely grow back to its normal state."

"This is amazing, Harry! Modern medicine will not be able to replicate this for some time and you give me hope that maybe you help me as you have helped, Stephen," said Charles.

"Charles, I promise to do all I can to help you. Stephen, once the nerves has regrown, you need to perform some dexterity exercises that will give them the flexibility and response you had before your accident but I must caution you that you must not channel magic through your hands for three days, they need that time to completely heal."

"I see. I hope nothing comes up in the next three days then."

"Do not worry. This room is separate from the time stream of the outside world. A day here is only equivalent to an hour outside so you will only be out of commission for three hours in real time."

"Harry the kind of magic we use is so similar yet they are different in ways that boggle the mind."

"The magic of the witches and wizards in my old reality has been adopted for use in their everyday mind which lend to its flexibility and variety of use," Harry turned to Xavier. "I will be levitating you to an operating table and you will be lying on your stomach but you can still observe what I am doing on an enchanted mirror connected to a special pair of glasses I will wear so you can see what I see. Let's wait an hour until Stephen's hands have healed so he can lend us his expertise as a neurosurgeon. While I am confident that Carrie an I can handle the surgery, another doctor's opinion will not hurt our chances."

"I agree. I did not know that you are a doctor too, Harry. You seem to be as younger than myself yet you are proficient in many areas of study," commented Jean.

"I know I do not look it but I am considerably older than the combined ages of the three of you and I have trained in many vocations during those years. Maybe someday I can tell you of my story."

The hands of Strange were healed sooner than expected and the Sorcerer Supreme was ecstatic with the results of the treatment. His hands were better than ever.

It was now time for Xavier to be examined so he levitated him to the operating table faced down. A real time image of Xavier's back was shown to Harry and the others and they all saw where a bullet was lodged between two of Xavier's vertebrae which led to his paralysis.

"Harry, can magic remove the bullet without killing Charles or further paralyzing him? Modern medicine is not able to do so without endangering him more," said Strange who was still opening and closing his fists to exercise his hands.

"That is correct, Stephen. Ordinarily, this injury will be hard to fix even with the help of magic but it is lucky that I have the most excellent liquid known to wizards," Harry was handed two small vials by Carrie which he showed to the group "This liquid are the tears of one of the magical world's most revered creatures, a phoenix. Its healing powers are matched only by this other liquid," Harry showed them the other vial. The phoenix tears were clear and transparent while the second liquid was a pearlescent white. "This is the willingly given blood of a unicorn. I stress the willingly given part because if the blood is forcibly taken, it will have side effects too ghastly to say. I cannot release these to the general public as they are too precious and are too rare. The ten drops of phoenix tears in this vial is priced at ten thousand galleons, the galleon is a golden coin equivalent to about five pounds sterling while the unicorn blood is simply priceless."

"I will be using the stasis charm on your body from the neck down, Charles, to prevent any unnecessary movement then I will make a small incision to expose the bullet so that I can vanish it into this container. Once I have done so, Carrie will be giving you one spoonful of the unicorn blood do not worry, it will taste sweet and not disgusting like the potion I gave Stephen, so make sure you drink everything. I will then use three drops of phoenix tears on the place where the bullet was lodged in. It will repair the nerves and muscles affected by the bullet. You will walk again, Charles, that I can promise you now. I will start now so Carrie, be ready to give Charles the unicorn blood."

"I am ready, Harry," spoke Carrie for the first time.

"Shall I proceed, Charles? I am confident that we can heal you fully."

"Do it, Harry. I have complete trust in you."

Harry numbed the area he will be operating on before making the incision. He gave Carrie a look that told the elf to be ready to give the blood to Charles before vanishing the bullet swiftly. Carrie did as expected while Harry used three drops of the phoenix tears to heal it."

Jean and Stephen gasped as the deep incision healed right before their eyes.

"This like watching a miracle in action," gushed Jean.

"Charles, you need to stay that way for about an hour or so then I will be monitoring your recovery here for five days. Carrie will be giving you some potions and you must drink them all to fortify your lower body. You will also need to drink a nutrient potion before breakfast for the next month to make the strengthening of your bones and develop muscle mass. Carrie will be keeping you under observation for the next five days so it looks like we will get to know each other more in the next few days."

"Thank you so much Harry. I believe I will rest for now, the operation tired me out." With that, Xavier fell asleep with a small smile on his face; his dreams would undoubtedly be pleasant.

Harry led Strange and Jean to a living area within the room to relax and eat their lunch.

"Harry, I cannot emphasize how much you have helped me. While I know that I will not be able to return to practicing medicine full time due to the demands of being the Sorcerer Supreme of this dimension, I believe I will try and work again as a surgeon, it is still my first love."

"Stephen, I have no doubts that you will be able to help many people. I will extend you an invitation to be a part time surgeon in the hospital I will be building in the future. It will be privately funded and it will be a hospital where the less fortunate can turn to for their medical needs."

"I will be looking forward to becoming a proud member of such a medical institution. Healthcare these days have become more of a profits first business than helping people," said Stephen.

"I too would pitch in what I can, if you would accept it. I will have some more free time since you have fixed Charles' disability. He would be a more hands on leader for the X-Men," pledged Jean.

"I will of course accept it. The more people working towards a dream, the easier the dream becomes a reality."

"I believe I would join Charles in resting a bit. See you later, Harry, Jean." Strange walked off to one of the normal beds in the infirmary.

"Harry, I was wondering if you could help me out with something. About two years ago, I started to have weird dreams and visions, it happens regularly since then, about twice a week. It is always of a bird made out of flames struggling to get out of a golden prison calling out my name to help it. I have the professor about it once but he was visibly agitated by it so whenever he asks if it has occurred again, I just say that it only happened that one time. I think he knows what it is but he denies any knowledge of it. He is hiding it from me," confessed Jean. "My powers have been a bit erratic since then. It randomly fluctuates and I am having a hard time controlling them especially my telepathy. Foreign thoughts invade my mind at random times. It has been happening a lot more lately and harder to control."

"I see. While I am clueless as to what I can do to regarding the visions you are having, I think I can help you with the random thoughts assaulting you," Harry went to the main penthouse library and returned with a pair of books. "These are copies of books from my personal library. The first one is a book on meditation, which is a necessary foundation for this other book on Occlumency; it is a mental discipline to help you harness the power of your mind into making mental defenses. Don't worry about not having magic to use it as it has been proven that even non-magical people can use it. Once you master Occlumency, the random thoughts should not be a problem anymore and it will also help you have better memory retention. When I was about fourteen years old, I was plagued by visions coming from my enemy and meditating before sleep usually helped to control the visions."

"Thank you, Harry. Will it be all right if I call you or visit you sometimes if I have questions on the books?"

"My door is always open for you, Jean, but I would suggest calling first just to make sure I am home. I will be traveling this weekend to Paris for the Harry's gala there. In the meantime, as our two friends are resting, I suggest you get started on the meditation book. We have about five days to get you started on the occlumency and it should be just enough time to get some basic shields up."

Harry and Jean became good friends during the last three days. Dr. Strange has rested his hands and Harry has given his approval for him to use magic again so he has already left to return to his duties. Xavier has been slowly building up the bone and muscle strength of his legs by using a walker a few hours each day to gradually get used to walking under his own strength again.

The third day was when Harry and Jean would start the process of erecting rudimentary shields, Harry was glad that Jean was gifted in the mind arts as it would normally take a week or two before a novice could start their shields. At Jean's urging they did not involve Xavier in their endeavors. Dobby and Winky were with them to guard their bodies as they will be out of contact for the time they were in Jean's mind.

"Jean, before we start, I want to remind you that you will be able to do this alone even without my help, I want you to understand that I am willing to help you if you wish it and it would accelerate the progress of your shields. It's just that this is a very intimate process usually undertaken by an older member of a family to help guide a younger family member. Do you really wish to include me in sorting through your mindscape?"

"I trust you, Harry. I know we have known each other for such a short time but I feel that you are a good person who will not abuse that trust," said Jean.

"Alright, let us begin." Harry entered Jean's mindscape and he saw a heavily fortified version of the Xavier School. It was covered by a thin force field. He saw a mental representation of Jean appear beside him.

"It seems you barely need me at all, this force field is good enough to keep out the undirected thoughts of other people. All you need is practice and this force field will be strong."

"Thank you Harry. I want to show you something." Jean led Harry to the living room where her memories were represented by DVDs. "As you can see, instead of movies, my memories are stored in the form of DVDs and I have already placed most of them into their categories. The last DVD is filled with the firebird in the golden cage. Would you watch it with me?"

"I will," was Harry's short reply.

The TV screen showed the golden cage and Harry gasped when he saw the bird.

"Jean, that is very similar to a magical bird from my old reality, the phoenix is a sentient being of light. It symbolizes the cycle of life and rebirth. I can understand what she is saying, she is saying 'Help me, Jean Grey, before it is too late!' over and over in the memories."

"How can you understand the cries?"

"I used to be able to transform into a phoenix but I sacrificed the form to travel to this universe because while I had that form, I am immortal and I will live even if I am killed, trust me, I have been killed quite a few times in my old reality. Have you explored the entire mansion?"

"I have except for a locked room, which, oddly enough, is my bedroom in the real world."

"Take me there please," Harry had a feeling that the mystery will be answered when they unlock that room. When they arrived there, they both gave it a few tries but it remained locked.

"I will try and use a few unlocking spells to open this door so give me some room please," Harry used an 'alahomora' and sure enough, the door did open.

The phoenix was there and was still locked in the cage which was visibly weakening. Harry held a hand to Jean's temple and cast a translation spell so that she too can understand the firebird.

'Jean Grey and Harry Potter. Have you come to free me at last?' asked the bird.

'What are you and why are you locked in that cage.' asked Jean in return.

'I am the Phoenix and I was drawn to you when you tried to save your friend. I was impressed with your loyalty and selflessness so I saved you by putting a small part of my essence in you but unfortunately it was too much so you became comatose. Your parents called that telepath Xavier to help you and in doing so he caged my essence, I tried to escape but it became impossible as I was only a small part of the essence of my being. You woke up but I slumbered here until something woke me up a few years ago. Now I know it was when you arrived Harry Potter. I can feel an imprint of my children in you Harry Potter but when you met with Jean Grey a few months ago I only felt a small part of the phoenix in you.'

'I sacrificed my phoenix animagus form to travel to this reality, I did not want to live forever and watch my friends die and while I had the phoenix form, I cannot die.'

'You are a curious human Harry Potter. Most would rejoice at being granted true immortality but you rejected it.'

'What happens now?' asked Jean.

'You must set me free. I have grown over the years while I slumbered and if I remain here, my essence will overwhelm your mind and body. This cage that man has placed me in is weakening as I grow so the cage will eventually collapse on its own, I will be released and when I do, my essence will overwhelm you. It is better to do it now while there is still a chance for you to retain your mind and body with Harry Potter's help. Harry Potter is powerful beyond your imagination Jean Grey, he will he your anchor. When you free me and you both survive, your powers will become stronger as you will absorb some of mine. Either free me now and you may live or wait until the cage is destroyed and you will die, the choice is yours.'

'Harry what shall we do? I do not want to die,' said Jean.

'It is obvious is it not?' asked Harry rhetorically. 'We will set you free but I need your word that you will do your best to give Jean a chance to live.' Harry addressed the Phoenix.

'Of course. I bear her no ill will.'

Another presence appeared in Jean's mind at that time.

"Jean! Harry! What are you doing? That entity almost killed Jean in the first place which is why I caged it. Do not set it free!" said Xavier.

'Foolish mortal! You do not comprehend the gravity of what you have done!' screeched the Phoenix.

"What did it say? Is it threatening you? We must strengthen the cage so it cannot get out!" Xavier exclaimed as he tried to come near the cage. Harry prevented it and cast a translation charm on Xavier's temple. Xavier froze at the Phoenix's words that were focused on him.

'You arrogant mortal! Do not meddle in what you do not understand!' the Phoenix said to Xavier before it turned to Harry and Jean. 'Get him away from this plane! The other parts of my cosmic essence have sensed his presence and it is not as forgiving as I am. I have been preventing them from destroying this cage as it would burn up Jean Grey's mind and body. If he stays here longer they will seek to join me and destroy you all.'

Harry said to Xavier, "You must remove yourself from Jean's mind, Charles. I will do my best to help Jean."

"I do not believe that entity. It seeks to dominate Jean's mind and takeover her!" protested Xavier.

"I'm afraid I have to expel you forcefully, professor. It is my only hope of living through your mistake!" Jean started expelling Xavier from her mindscape.

"No, Jean, do not believe it! It is lying to you! Nooooooo!" Xavier was expelled forcefully; he was knocked unconscious in the real world.

'Let us destroy the cage quickly before Xavier tries again!' said Jean.

Harry and Jean concentrated on telekinetically forcing the cage open and after quite the struggle, they succeeded. The Phoenix launched itself towards Harry and Jean so Harry tried to shield Jean with his body and a magical shield but the Phoenix penetrated the barrier and joined with Jean who became engulfed in flame and was slowly rising into the air. Harry did the first thing he could think of, he grabbed hold of Jean and e was engulfed with the same cosmic fire.

'Jean fight the essence and release it into the astral plane! You can do it Jean, you can do it!' They were both being bathed in the purifying cosmic flames of the Phoenix, their clothes have already burned away into ash yet their bodies did not suffer any burns. After those few seconds that felt like an eternity, the two telepaths gradually descended back to the ground with the fires dying when they reached the ground. Harry groggily tried to wake Jean who was unconscious.

"Jean! Wake up! It is over, we survived!" He cast an 'enervate' on Jean to revive her.

"Harry? Were we successful? I felt myself giving in to the power of the Phoenix, it felt so tantalizingly good but then I heard your words and I felt you grab on to me so I pulled back."

"We did it Jean. We are alright although we should go back to the real world and reassure the elves and Xavier. They might be panicking already." They both blushed like a ripe tomato when they noticed their position and their nakedness.

"Alright let's go to the front gates of the mansion. It may be dangerous to just exit my mind without passing there in our weakened state."

Harry assisted Jean in getting up before they walked to the front gates in silence. They could not help stealing glances at each other's beautiful naked bodies so they were blushing the whole way out.

Back in the real world

Harry and Jean woke up from being unconscious and they found themselves naked and their bodies intertwined. They saw Xavier on the sofa, still unconscious, while Dobby and Winky gave a sigh of relief that they were safe. Harry gave the elves a smile and rose from their compromising position before conjuring simple scrubs for them to wear.

"Master Harry, I am so glad you are both okay. Dr. Xavier came in here a few minutes after you enter Dr. Grey's mindscape saying that you were both in danger. A few minutes later he was thrown away from the two of you and he was knocked unconscious. Carrie checked on him and said he was physically fine and that we should let him wake up on his own. Carrie has just left when Dr. Grey rose slowly into the air wrapped in flames shaped like a firebird and seconds later you grabbed hold to her. You were both encased in the flames and your clothes burned away but we did not see any burns so we waited. We were able to catch you both with our magic as you fell down from slowly to the floor. You woke up a few seconds after that," said Dobby quickly in a breathless way that reminded Harry of Hermione.

"We encountered a cosmic entity, Dobby. It was touch and go for a while but we made it out safely. I never realized that I miss the adrenaline rush that life and death situations give me." Harry gave a laugh at his realization.

"What a terrible thing to say! Dobby and Winky were terrified and yet you are laughing! I am sorry for worrying you two. We are both fine though a bit weak. I have a killer headache though," scolded Jean.

"We are used to Master Harry's weird sense of humor, Dr. Grey. We are glad you are both fine, come you both need to eat before you rest for a few hours."

They all left Xavier and went to the dining room of the infirmary where they ate a few sandwiches and drank some fresh orange juice. Carrie came in and left the two tired telepaths a vial each of headache potion and a mild sleeping draught. They both gladly drank the potions before climbing on to their beds for some well-deserved rest.

Harry and Jean woke up in time for dinner on the fifth day and they were joined by Xavier. The meal was served in the dining room of the penthouse as Xavier was well enough to care for himself. They ate their dinner in awkward silence before Xavier spoke.

"You were both very foolhardy in trusting that entity. You shouldn't have freed it, it placed all of us in danger. What if it took over you, Jean?"

Harry was surprised at the tone used by Xavier so he responded coldly. "Charles, do not presume to be the judge of our actions. You are not all knowing and you made a mistake in caging that cosmic entity."

"You were the one who endangered our lives. You never told me about what you did, about why you caged the entity in my mind. I think I at least had a right to know what is in my mind," said Jean angrily.

"You were too young to know what happened. I thought it was gone as I have never felt it again," Xavier defended his point.

"I am a grown woman, professor. I have the right to know. The cage you placed the Phoenix in was visibly weakening. It said that the time was near and what you were afraid of would have happened. If the cage destroyed itself due to the growing power of the Phoenix, I would have been burnt to a crisp. As it is, it almost happened without the help of Harry."

"I did what I thought was for the best and I will not apologize for that," Xavier stubbornly replied.

"Listen to yourself; you are being your usual stubborn self. You are wrong, professor, and stop your fucking mind probes. You have no right to enter my mind like it was your private fucking playground!" Jean was very angry at this point and fire can literally be seen in her eyes.

"Jean, please calm down. I think you should get away from Jean for a while, Dr. Xavier," said Harry.

"Very well. Harry, I thank you for your hospitality and for healing me. Carrie has given me the necessary potions for the duration of my recovery so I should be able to go home when Scott arrives here. I will be in the library."

Jean waited for Xavier to get out of the dining room before speaking again. "That man is so infuriating with his stubbornness and his I know better than you do attitude. He won't even acknowledge that he made a mistake!"

"I knew a few men like that before and I think you will just have to live with it. You do need to calm down and be a bit more in control of your new powers. Your eyes were glowing with phoenix fire earlier; it's why I asked Xavier to go away."

"I think caging the Phoenix force messed with my emotions. I feel like a dam has burst inside of me and the emotions I did not know I had bottled up was released. I feel great and now I can express myself better. Looking back, I can honestly say that I was a cold fish before."

"Well, I suggest you keep up with your meditation exercises to better control your emotions. With your powers, you have to have a tight rein on your emotions or it can get out of control and you might do something you might regret." Harry raised his hands to stop Jean's reply. "I am not saying that you have to become your old cold fish self, all I want you to realize is that you need to rule over your emotions, not the other way around. Express your emotions but do not give it full control of your being."

"Okay Harry. I do not know what would have happened if you were not there to help me. Thank you so much."

"No problem, Jean. If you need help or anything at all, just give me a call."

"Thanks again for all your help. I think I better get going. I have a lot to think about."

"I'd invite you to the Paris gala but I know you would want some peace and quiet."

"Any other time and I would have jumped at the chance to go to Paris but you are right, I need peace and quiet to find myself for now."

The wards alerted Harry that Scott Summers has arrived to pick up his two guests while Jean was getting ready to go. Harry finished his dessert before going to the library to meet his new guest. From the looks he got from the man, He guessed Xavier has already told him what happened.

"Good evening, Mr. Summers. I trust you had a pleasant trip? Would you like some dinner before you depart?" Harry greeted Summers amiably like a good host should.

"I'm fine. Where is Jean?"

"I suppose she is getting her things. Charles, did Carrie give you instructions on when to drink your potions?"

"Yes she did. Thank you again for your hospitality and your help, Harry. I understand that the potions are not cheap along with the medicines you gave me during the operation, please send me the bill. I promise to pay it; after all, I am not without my resources."

"I was glad to help so please do not trouble yourself about the price of your potions or the operation."

"I must insist that you let me pay, Harry."

"I do not consider helping my friends as a debt to be paid, Charles, unless you do not want my friendship?"

"No, I consider you a friend, Harry. Forgive me for being so insistent, I seldom find myself indebted to another, be it a friend or otherwise. Please accept my gratitude for the help you gave me." Charles extended his right hand and Harry shook it as Jean entered the room.

"Are you alright, Jean? Professor Xavier told me what happened," Summers immediately went to Jean and sent a look to Harry.

"Scott, I'm fine. Let's talk about it later. You should assist Professor Xavier. I'll meet you at the car." Summers reluctantly went to Xavier and assisted him with his things. "Sorry about that. He is always like that, too fucking loyal to Xavier that he does not consider all the sides of the situation," Jean apologized once the two other mutants were out of earshot.

"It happens. I think he has a crush on you," he kidded Jean who groaned.

"He does. I've told him time and time again that we are better off as friends but he does not want to listen. I want to tell him that the puppy dog look does not work if you can't see his eyes but that would be cruel." She smirked at Harry.

"You are a spitfire, Dr. Grey."

"Anyway, thank you again, for helping us," she kissed Harry on the cheek and hurried to the waiting elevator to hide her blush. Harry just smiled at her direction after the door closed. He went to his study and made his calls for the trip to Los Angeles.

Tomorrow, Harry decided to let Emma Frost in on some of his secrets. He did not get any bad vibes fro reading her, just a strong curiosity. He also reasoned that she will be his right hand, so to speak so he had to trust her to some degree. The information was under the modified Fidelius so there shouldn't be a problem. With that last thought, he sent a message to Frost that he would see her tomorrow morning at the PHI office for a meeting then he slept the sleep of the weary.

PHI HQ Manhattan

Harry knocked twice and waited a few seconds before entering his employee's office.

"Good morning, Emma. Are you busy?"

"Nothing that couldn't wait. What is it?"

He locked the door and cast a few security charms before replying.

"I decided last night that since you will be this corporation's top executive, I should let you know a few things."

"Are you sure you want to let me know so much? Not that I do not wish to know things but I just want you to make sure of your decision. You have just hired me after all."

"I have thought things through so yes, I am sure, besides you will not be able to reveal these information to anyone without my explicit agreement."

Emma raised a well-manicured eyebrow at this. "Okay, tell me these secrets then."

"I am a reality traveler from a different world that has no mutants and instead of mutants; my reality's Earth had witches and wizards. I am a wizard and I have magic."

"You are kidding me right?"

"No, and I will give you a demonstration of some of my abilities." He waved his hand and turned Emma's newspaper into a puppy which he then levitated around the room before returning it to her desk. Emma hesitantly approached the puppy which proceeded to lick her fingers. Harry turned it back into a newspaper before teleporting near Emma. "Do you believe me now?"

"I do but my mind still has trouble comprehending what I just saw."

"Hold on to my hand. This will be a bit disconcerting but remain calm. Let's go to Paris, I think I want some croissants."

He teleported them to an alley he has warded on a previous visit to Paris so that he has a safe place to teleport to. Emma followed him to a nearby cafe which made excellent croissants and coffee. He ordered for the two of them in French as Emma was still looking around the open air cafe. When their food arrived, Harry recast his privacy charms.

"Well? What do you think?"

"I think this is amazing! So you are not a mutant, you are a wizard."

"No, when I came to this reality, I received my mutant powers of which telepathy is one aside from my magical gifts that I retained. I think this solves one of your questions regarding how I produce my goods, though the specifics will remain a secret that only I will know about. I also came here with a few elves who are bound to me, Mira, the office manager along with Dobby and Winky are some of them. The only ones who knows are the Queen, the PM, you, the X-Men and Doctor Strange. The information I've just told you are magically protected so that without my expressed permission, none of you can reveal it in any way shape or form."

"Does this change any of your corporation's goals?"

"No. I really meant what I said about my goals for the future. I came from a reality where in the magical people has isolated themselves from the non-magical public. This reality does have that luxury and I have no wish to hide who I am for longer than necessary."

They have finished their snack by then. "Shall we go back to the office or do you want to do something here?"

"Well as much as I want to stay here in Paris, I can take care of my new wardrobe from your Manhattan store and I still have to prep a bit for the meeting with Stark Industries. I already have a dress from Harry's for the Paris gala. Are we teleporting from Los Angeles on Saturday?"

"As much as I want to save time by teleporting, we need to keep up appearances so we'll be using the jet. Grab my hand and we'll go back to your office." They went back to Manhattan and into their separate offices. Emma was left to her own thoughts by Harry; he knew that it was a lot to take in.

Teterborough Airport

Harry picked up Natalie at her apartment before driving over to the airport where they will be meeting Emma for the trip to Los Angeles. Harry introduced Emma and Natalie to each other before meeting his pilot. Captain Riley met them at the hanger to report to Harry.

"We have tested the plane during our down time, Harry. The mechanics performed a thorough check on the engines while we pilots checked on the navigation system before we flew her to Los Angeles and back yesterday. Everything runs smoothly and we did not experience any problems. We have already done the preflight checks and we can fly out at your say so Harry."

"Let's go and board then. We can eat breakfast on the plane. Dobby packed a basket of food for us."

He guided the two ladies into the plane and Natalie got a big surprise when she was grabbed with a big hug by the other pilot.

"Nat! How are you? I did not know you knew Harry!"

"Hello Carol. I met Harry during his store's Manhattan gala." Natalie turned to Harry. "Can I speak to Carol for a minute before we take off?"

"Sure, take your time. We've plenty of time."

Natalie and Carol walked into the cockpit and closed the door. "Nat, what's going on?"

"I'm on an assignment, Carol. My name is Natalie Rushman and I am a corporate lawyer. We met through our mutual friend Maria back in college. Fury wanted me to get to know your boss since r is going to be supplying Shield with his potions."

"You are putting me in a difficult position, Nat. Harry's my boss and I cannot exactly spy on him for Shield."

"You don't have to do anything. Just don't blow my cover."

"Okay. I will do that but in return I do not want Shield getting on my ass to spy on Harry. He's a good boss from what I've experienced so far."

"I know he's a good man. I think I'm falling for him, Carol. He's not just another assignment."

"Wow. You have to tell me more about this later."

"I will. He will be in a meeting with Stark Industries later so we can talk then."

"Fine. We better get back to them."

While Carol and Natalie went the cockpit, Emma talked to Harry about the two women.

"You do know that Natalie is really a spy from Shield and that you pilot, Carol, is a super powered metahuman and a former Shield agent, right?"

"I know. Don't worry about them."

"You're the boss."

She then took a seat on one of the plush leather seats before reading her newspaper. Harry just smiled at the nonchalance of his employee. Natalie and Carol returned soon after. They were taxiing off the runway a few minutes later. Emma left them alone and busied herself with her own breakfast while she went over the newspapers she brought with her. Harry and Natalie got caught up in what the two of them has been doing during the time they were apart. Before they know it, they were landing in Los Angeles.

They all checked into their hotel rooms to freshen up then Emma, Harry and Natalie along with Carol met up for lunch at one of the hotel's restaurants. The other pilot preferred to sleep and did not join them.

Pretty soon, it was time for Harry and Emma to go to their meeting while Natalie and Carol went to Carol's room to powwow.

"Maybe you and Carol can walk around the city while Emma and I are in our meeting."

"We'll be in our suite, Harry. I plan to catch up with Carol since I have not seen her for some time. Good luck on your meeting."

"Thanks, Nat. See you later. You two girls behave, alright?" Harry kissed Natalie before getting into the hotel limousine that will take them to Stark Industries.

Pepper Potts met them in the lobby and led them to Stark's private office.

"Good afternoon, Harry." Stark shook hands with Harry before noticing Emma. "Emma Frost! What are you doing in my part of the world?"

"Hello to you too, Tony. I'm the new president and chief operating officer of Potter Holdings Inc."

"Harry you better be careful, Miss Frost here is a sharp one." Tony joked.

"I had to bring in a professional to negotiate the deals for my company; I am a novice after all when it comes to business. I am just a simple linguist with dreams of being a big shot like you." Harry replied to Tony's joke.

"Why I'm flattered that you think of me as a big shot, Harry."

"Stop kidding around Tony. Would you two like a drink?" asked Pepper.

"Ice water will be fine, Pepper," said Harry which was repeated by Emma.

"Now, here is the Potter Silk you requested, Tony."

A clerk left the bolt of acromantula silk on the table.

"But it's pink!"

"Emma figured pink was more suitable to your skin color." Harry smirked at Tony.

"Fine. I am very interested with the properties of Potter Silk. Pepper nearly tore my head off when I tried to run some experiments on the scarf she got in her gift bag so I had to make do with the tie and hanky I got. The results I got from my lab tests were very interesting."

"Of course I protested when he took my scarf, Harry. It is a beautiful scarf!" Pepper glared at her boss.

"I would have done the same, Pepper. So Anthony, what are you offering?"

"See, Harry? Sharp I tell you."

"Shush it, Anthony. Get to the point."

"I want to know if you would e willing to sell Stark Industries the formula for the silk."

Harry let Emma handle the negotiations like they discussed yesterday. She knew how to deal with Stark and Harry has already told her what he was willing to give.

"Anthony, do you see a sign saying 'I'm a schmuck' on my forehead? PHI will not sell the secret of Potter Silk to anyone for any price and you know that so get to your real offer."

"I am planning on adding a layer of Potter Silk to my company's combat armor that we are currently supplying the Pentagon and other countries. How much are you willing to sell it for?"

Pepper was only looking at them while taking notes on the meeting. Once again, Emma answered for Harry.

"We can supply you however much Potter Silk you need and we can guarantee that Stark Industries will be the only defense contractor with access to the silks for the price of $3,000.00 per square yard."

"That is a pretty stiff price, Emma."

"I know if you do not want it, I am sure Justin Hammer will be interested in making a deal. It is only a matter of time before he realizes Potter Silk's potential uses."

"Hammer? Please, that man is an uninspired Neanderthal. I doubt he will realize the uses of this silk if it hit him point blank in face. $2,000 per square yard and we have a deal."

"$2,500.00 per square yard and we have a deal, Anthony."

"Okay, fine. You have a deal. Imagine the many applications o this silk. We can line our armors with it and a host of other uses."

"I will have our lawyers draw up the contract. 'Harry's' will only sell Potter Silk for civilian use like clothes and such," Emma smiled at Stark.

"But I thought Stark Industries will be the exclusive users of Potter Silk?"

"No other defense contractor can buy Potter Silk from us so the governments of the world will only be able to buy armors made with them from you but 'Harry's' will sell only to the civilian sector with finished products to protect your exclusive rights. It's not like many civilians can afford Potter Silk."

"Fine but I will not stop trying to discover how it is made. I checked the patent offices and you never filed for patents so if I can discover how it is made the contract is void, are we agreed?"

"Sure, if you ever discover how it is made, you can cancel the contract," answered Harry.

"You are getting cocky, Harry, and I like it! Done. My first order is for one thousand yards of Potter Silk and I get to pick the color! Half would be in black, the other half in the new MultiCam camouflage pattern being rolled out by the US Army."

Emma looked at Harry to see if he can produce that amount of Potter Silk and she got a small smile and a nod as answer. "PHI can handle that. When do you want to pick it up?"

"Pick up? You don't do delivery?" Tony asked disbelievingly.

"Sorry, Anthony. It is a company policy, pickups only, no deliveries. It will be the same with the medicines once it gets approval. It is a standard clause on all PHI contracts. This way, PHI will be clear from any claims against and we avoid the costs in providing delivery service and security for the products. It was a genius idea by Harry."

"Alright. I think FedEx and UPS will love you for that. Is tomorrow too soon for the pick up?"

"Sorry, Anthony. No signed contract, no Potter Silk."

"Oh come on! I have nothing to do! Damned lawyers are gonna take a week to write up the contract!" Tony tried his puppy dog look at Harry who just laughed and shook his head at Tony's antics.

"Sorry man, I'm just the owner; Emma gets to decide these things. You should be happy she settled for $2,500 per yard, she originally wanted twice that amount."

"Oh, Anthony, this is only a one year contract."

"What?!"

"Anthony, you are getting this contract for Potter Silk at a cheap price, you know it and I know it. You are only avoiding a bidding war because for some inexplicable reason, Harry here likes you. If it were up to me, I would have orchestrated a bidding war for all the defense contractors."

"Geez woman you scare me! Just get the contract made quickly so I can decipher your formula."

"Careful, Anthony. Piss me off and I'll go shop Potter Silk around for a better price." Emma smirked at Tony; she knew she had him by the short and curlies.

"Yes, ma'am. Harry why don't you and the delightful Miss Frost here join us for dinner at Nobu? I feel like this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship," Tony invited his new partners. "I'm off to Afghanistan tomorrow for a product demonstration. I want to eat some decent food while I can."

"Rain check, Tony. We'll be flying to Paris as soon as we finish here. I originally planned to invite you and Pepper to join us but since you will be going to Afghanistan, maybe Pepper can go with us." Harry looked at Pepper who looked like she wanted to go but was resisting it.

"I can't Harry. I've got too much to do since Tony will be gone for a week." Pepper demurred.

"Go and have fun, Pepper. Harry might think I'm a cold heated bastard if I don't let you go. I'm a bastard but I'm not cold hearted," Stark encouraged Pepper. "I'm sure Obie can handle things here."

"Oh thank you, Tony, you are a great boss! Harry where should I meet you? I have to pack and oh my god I need a dress!"

"Don't worry about the dress. I'll have someone from the Paris store help you girls select a new outfit and accessories, no arguments. I will have three beautiful women as walking ads for Harry's so it will not be a loss. I'll even loan out some of the jewelry to go with your new outfits."

"That is how a boss treats his valuable employees, Anthony. If you do not behave, I might persuade Harry to steal Pepper from you," Emma laughed at Stark's expression.

"No, Pepper is not like that! Pepper is a loyal Stark Industries employee, aren't you Pep?"

"Harry, does that job come with a hefty clothing and accessories allowance? Anyway, let's discuss it on the plane. I have to get home and pack. See ya, Tony!" With that Pepper Potts was out the door.

"Pepper! You won't leave me for Harry will you? Pepper!"

Harry and Emma just laughed at the terror they saw on Tony's face as they followed Pepper out the door.

Harry and his entourage had a grand time in Paris, the ladies were the belles of the ball and Harry was their gallant knight. Natalie was able to persuade Carol to join them in the festivities so Harry had two blondes and two red heads to escort to the gala.

Harry got to know Natalie better during their time together and they agreed that they were a good fit for each other.

However, all good things must come to an end and Harry wished that they can stay in Paris longer but Pepper and Emma had responsibilities in the US. They've just landed in NYC when Pepper burst out crying.

"What happened, Pepper? Why are you crying all of a sudden?" Natalie asked her fellow red head.

"Oh, God, what am I going to do?! I just received a call from Rhodey. He is Tony's Pentagon liaison and he said Tony's convoy got ambushed! Tony's been abducted!"


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 - Stark in the Desert

Harry Potter: Magical Avenger

Disclaimer:

I do not own the Harry Potter universe nor do I own the Marvel universe from which the Avengers and other characters came from. This work of fiction does not reflect the author's personal views and ideals nor does the author claim to know or represent the personal views and ideals of the owners of the characters used or of any real person portrayed in this work of fiction. 

Author's Note:

I am sorry for not being able to upload this chapter earlier; my DSL got disconnected due to a storm.

Thank you to Angeldoctor for allowing me to use Arcane as Harry's codename, I kinda drew a blank on what to name him.

Monday May 19, 2008

"Listen to me Pepper, Tony is a very important man for the Pentagon, he has many friends there who will do whatever can be done to rescue and save Tony. Do you really think that the Pentagon will let their best weapons developer to be lost in the deserts of Afghanistan? Tony probably knows a lot of secrets, and these are secrets that the government will want to remain secret so they will do their best to retrieve Tony unharmed." Harry tried to reassure Pepper.

"Thanks, Harry. I needed to hear that. Rhodey did mention that the Pentagon brass is going nuts over there trying to locate, Tony."

"While I am a bit bitchy to Tony, even I can admit to the fact that very few people in the world deserve to have an ego like Tony has. That man child is simply one of the most brilliant minds in the world, please do not tell him that when he returns, he'll never let me live that down," Emma tried to cheer up the red head.

"You'll have your boss back shortly, Pepper. You'll think back to this moment and ask yourself why you were even worried in the first place." Natalie handed Pepper another tissue.

"I'll ask the pilots to take you to Los Angeles as soon as Nat, Emma, and I get off this plane. I don't want you riding commercial in the state you are in. Be strong, Pepper."

"Thanks, Harry. I hope you guys are right."

They all hugged Pepper before they deplaned at Teterborough. Once the plane refueled, it taxied off for California.

"I hope Tony gets rescued soon. Pepper will blame herself irrationally for going to Paris and she will be a wreck until she sees Tony again," said Harry while they got into the car with Natalie. Emma went to her car, she will be going home for a bit before proceeding to PHI.

"I hope so too. What you told her is true though, you can bet that the Pentagon will treat this as a high priority," agreed Natalie.

"Do you want to have some lunch first before I take you to your apartment?"

"I think I'll pass on the lunch for now. Just drop me off at my building and get to work. I know you have a lot to do."

"Work can wait, Nat."

"Harry, you have another gala to oversee in Tokyo this weekend and I'm sure that there are more paperwork you have to go through. I'll be fine."

"Okay. What are your plans for the week?"

"I have to go to a cousin's wedding in Colorado for a few days. He found out that I'm on vacation so he's been bugging me for a few days now." Yeah, Fury's been bugging me for a few days now, Natalie thought to herself.

"Do you need a date to this wedding? I can come with you if you want."

"Oh, Harry, trust me, you don't want to do that. I think I can survive a Colorado wedding on my own."

They drove in comfortable silence the rest of the way to Natalie's apartment. "Call me if you need anything, okay?"

"I will, Harry. I'll call you if I can make it to Tokyo with you and here's something to remember me by," she kissed Harry so passionately that Harry was a bit dazed. "Bye, Harry, I'll see you soon." She smirked as she wiped away her lipstick from Harry's lips and then walked away seductively since she knows Harry was still looking at her.

"You little minx." Harry thought to himself before driving home to rest from the long flight, smiling the whole time.

First Week of June 2008

The Tokyo gala was another great success. The presence of the Crown Prince of Japan and Prince William ensured that the paparazzi covered the event. Natalie was unable to come as she was still in Colorado which Harry understood to mean as on assignment for Shield so Emma accompanied Harry to the gala. Harry was currently on his plane to Stark Industries in Los Angeles to see how Pepper was doing, using the delivery of Potter Silk as an excuse. When Harry was met by Pepper in the lobby, he immediately gave her a hug and Pepper immediately burst into tears.

"How are you doing, Pepper?"

"I'm fine, Harry," she amended her statement at Harry's unbelieving look. "Okay, I'm not sleeping well and I cannot concentrate on my work. I'm just worried about Tony. It has been two weeks and he still hasn't been found."

Harry was torn. He had three choices; he could find and rescue Tony, he could find out where Tony is using magic the give his whereabouts to the government or he can leave Tony to his fate. He knew he could not live with the third option so he temporized while he tried to think things through. "Is there a place we can find something to ear nearby? The greasier, the better. We need comfort food right now."

"There's a diner two blocks from here."

"Great! Let's eat there."

He ordered a cheeseburger and some fries along with a vanilla milkshake. Pepper did not want to eat so he got her an order of fries and a chocolate milkshake. He knew Pepper can't resist nibbling on fries if there's some in easy reach and who doesn't like chocolate?

"Tell me more about Tony's disappearance. What is the Pentagon doing?"

"I've been in constant contact with Rhodey since his abduction. They had a few leads but they did not pan out. The last one was an ambush and luckily no one died."

"I see. Do you have any personal belongings of Tony? Something with his blood or even his sweat would be best."

"What are you going to do Harry?"

"I'll think of something but I need something of Tony's. Trust me, Pepper." Harry looked so serious Pepper answered him without asking more questions.

"Will semen on a bed cover be enough?" She answered while blushing a brilliant red.

"Sure that would be fine. I don't want to ask where you're getting it, do I?" Harry tried to keep his face neutral but he couldn't prevent a smile from showing.

"Stop teasing Harry! Happy, Tony's chauffeur said Tony went home with a reporter the night before he left. I was so excited to go to Paris that I forgot about an award being given to Tony in Vegas that Saturday night. Happy had done what I usually do whenever Tony wants to avoid his one night stands. They were late for their flight to Afghanistan so the sheets haven't been change yet. The lady who comes in thrice a week hasn't cleaned up yet because the house was sealed off by investigators."

"Let's go get his dirty linen then." While they were on their way to Tony's house, Harry called ahead to the pilots to tell them that he will be spending a few days in LA.

After getting the dirty linen, he dropped Pepper off at the Stark Industries building, promising to call her in a few days. "Pepper, please keep this thing between us secret. I promise to explain later."

"Okay. I promise."

Harry bought a world map and maps of Afghanistan and of the countries bordering it before teleporting to Elysium where he had the things he needed to scry Tony's location. He found the missing billionaire in a mountainous region of Afghanistan according to the map.

He wore his hooded armor and the bracers he made along with his new face mask. The basilisk skin armor has been heavily enchanted by Harry to adapt to almost any situation like being in the vacuum of space, the deeps of the ocean or in this case, the heat and sand of the desert. He packed potions in one of his armor's pockets and some food and drink in another. He was sure Tony will need those items later.

After willing himself to become invisible, he shadow traveled to the military hospital he used to work in. He cast a modified 'point me charm' to get Tony's general direction before launching himself up into the air and flying to Tony. Harry was glad he modified the charm to show a magical line visible only to the caster since he no longer used a wand that will 'point' him to the person or object he was looking for.

When he got to Tony's location, he saw that Stark has started the party without him so he sent a hail of blasting curses to the terrorists hiding from Tony. Harry just shook his head at the mayhem his friend has caused and he was not terribly surprised to find what he correctly assumed to be Tony in a metal full body armor shooting flames at his captors. He established a mental link with Tony.

'I gotta hand it to you, Tony; you really know how to heat things up. By the way, this is Harry, just think whatever you want to say to me and do not shout my name out loud. I'm flying invisibly on top of you.' Harry saw a sat phone on a table near one of the dead men. He figured Tony can use it so he summoned it and placed it into his pocket.

'Harry? What the hell are you doing here? How can you be flying above me and since when are you a telepath?'

'Pepper was worried about you. She can't sleep and focus so since I had a few hours with nothing to do, I figure I'll help her out. And yes, Tony, I can fly and I've always been a telepath.'

'Really? Pepper is worried sick about me?'

'I tell you I can fly and that I am a telepath yet all you take away from my previous statement is that Pepper is worried sick? I think if you weren't wearing that armor I'd see you smiling like a loon. Now do you want me to fly you out of here? There are a couple of trucks coming filled with more of your friends.'

'Nah, I have it under control. You're not the only one who can fly.'

'Go ahead and fly out of here, I'll follow you since you can't see me.'

Harry was amazed at the speed the Tony rose to the air. He was like the tomahawk missile Harry stole from the Navy. His amazement quickly turned into uncontrollable laughter as Tony's armor lost propulsion and face planted on the desert. Harry quickly landed next to Stark and fell over laughing. He felt Tony's embarrassment over the link and the colorful cursing that followed it so he turned off the mental link.

"The girls will love this memory of the great Tony Stark face planting in the desert. I was laughing so hard I nearly flubbed my landing!"

"Oh come on Harry! Emma and Pepper will never let me live that down. Whatever happened to us guys sticking together? I built the thing in a few days in a freaking cave! Give me a break!"

"Oh alright. I'll keep this as blackmail material. What is that on your chest?"

"This is my arc reactor, it powered the suit."

"Okay but why is it embedded in your chest?"

"I got hit with shrapnel and the man who saved my life used an electromagnet to keep it away from my ticket. But enough about me, are you a mutant?"

"You can say that, let's talk about it later. Are you hungry?"

"I could do with a nice cheeseburger. I don't suppose you have some with you huh?"

"I'm all out of burgers but how does a BLT and a Coke grab you?" He pulled out the food from his pockets and set out enough for the two of them. He also conjured two beach chairs and a big umbrella to shade them from the heat.

"You are a godsend!"

"So Tony, how do you plan on getting out of here?"

Tony had the nerve to be embarrassed. "I was kinda hoping that the satellites would pick up on the explosions and send out a few planes and helicopters and then they would see me."

"Isn't that wishful thinking?"

"Hey! I can only do so much okay?"

"Here, I stole it from the the terrorists." Harry handed over the purloined phone and a few healing potions. "Drink those potions then call your friend Rhodey. He should be able to track the signal."

"Can't you just fly us out of here? Don't think I forgot about the chairs and umbrella appearing out of thin air, the food was just my priority then."

"I want to limit my exposure to the government so I plan on going invisible and vanishing the furniture before the army gets here. Too many questions will be asked if they see me here with you so keep my involvement secret." Harry watched Tony grimace at the taste of the potions. "I know they taste bad but they're good for you."

"Fine. I actually feel better and I promise to keep your secrets but you have to let me tell Pepper. I look forward to your explanations later."

"Pepper is okay but only Pepper and no one else. I promised to give her an explanation anyway. We kinda took the bed sheet you used with the reporter so that I can scry your location."

"My bed sheet? Scry? You used my semen to track me? Do you have a special talent that lets you smell the semen of every man?"

"Ewww no! I used magic to find you but I needed something with your blood or sweat on it and was a good substitute for it."

"Oh come on! Magic? Really? Can't you find a better excuse?"

"Tony, I promise to tell you when we get back to the US but the fact is I am a wizard. Now go and call your military liaison, I wanna get out of here."

It took a few hours but eventually Tony got a helo ride to the US army base from there he got on his jet to the US. Harry watched all this while floating invisibly then he shadow travelled back to his hotel room for a quick shower before going to sleep, tired from the day's adventure.

The Next Day

Harry got up and ordered some breakfast. He showered and called Pepper while he waited for his food to arrive.

"Good morning, Pepper! It's me, Harry."

"Harry! I've been trying to get a hold of you since yesterday. They found Tony, he's alive!"

"See, I told you that you had nothing to worry about. When will he be back stateside?"

"He'll be arriving in a few hours. Are you still in LA?"

"I checked into a hotel yesterday after I dropped you off."

"Good, come with me to get Tony from the airport. I'm at the office right now, come here in an hour then we'll go together, okay?"

"Sure but won't there be other people Tony would like to see? I might just be in the way."

"Tony doesn't have any family left Harry and he told me to bring you with me to the airport when I talked to him earlier. I'm sure we can all fit into a limo. It'll just be me, you and Tony. Happy will be driving so there'll be plenty of space."

"Okay then, see you in an hour."

Harry ate his breakfast and called the concierge for a car to take him to Pepper's office. While he was on the way over, he called Emma and Nat to catch up. He confirmed that Tony has indeed been rescued and he'll be arriving in a couple of hours. He also told them that he'll be joining Pepper at the airport to welcome him home so the girls asked him to give their best to Tony though Emma told Harry to slap Tony upside the head for worrying Pepper so much.

Apparently, Tony's plane will be arriving soon so Pepper and Happy were waiting for him in the office lobby, ready to get to the airport. They made it with a quarter of an hour to spare and they were on the tarmac by the car when the plane landed.

"Hey! Looks like I have quite a crowd waiting for me huh?" Tony quipped. There were just the three of them waiting.

"Glad you made it back, boss," greeted Happy with a hug.

"I'm glad you're back, Tony. You have a ton of work to do." Pepper hugged him tightly.

"Gee, thanks for reminding me about the paperwork, Pepper. I think I deserve some time off from my captivity."

"Hey, Tony, how's it hanging?" Harry delivered Emma's request.

"Oww! What was that for? I'm still recovering!"

"Emma sends her regards and asked me to smack you for worrying Pepper."

"She is really a warm person," Tony said jokingly. "Now I want some cheeseburgers and a beer then please call a press conference in an hour, Pepper."

"A press conference? What for?" asked Pepper though she was already reaching for her mobile phone.

"I realized a few things over there and I want to make a few changes in how the company does business," said Tony with a forced smile. Pepper moved over to the other side of the limo to get some quiet while she called the press though she kept her eyes on Tony and Harry.

"I don't want to pry but what kind of changes are you talking about?" Harry asked the billionaire who took a deep breath before answering him.

"I plan to stop making weapons entirely and maybe look into the arc reactor technology to be the new focus of Stark Enterprises. Harry, I saw my weapons in the hands of those terrorists, hell, I was blown up by one of my own weapons by them. They had a whole stock pile of Stark missiles and guns." They were both silent for a few minutes before Harry replied.

"I think you are correct in what you are thinking of doing. Sustainable energy is the future," said Harry.

"I know but I can hear the but coming."

"Yes, there is a but. Instead of pulling out of the defense business all together, I think you should make it a gradual withdrawal. Stop manufacturing missiles and other bombs that can cause too much damage but continue to make fire arms like rifles and hand guns for the military, you know, the small scale stuff. There are a lot of soldiers relying on the edge your weapons give them to fight the good fight. Focus on how to give them good armor and improve secure communications; help them survive the war. If there are a lot of your weapons in the hands of the terrorists, do a quiet internal audit and tighten your control over who gets to buy the weapons. Remember, you will need funding to develop things that you can shift your company's focus on."

"Hmm. Maybe you're right. I will be doing the soldiers a disservice by leaving them hanging like that."

"See, who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks?" Harry joked to lighten up the mood.

"Armors huh? You just want me to buy more of your silks," Tony smirked.

"Sure, you will be buying more silks but at least it help the front line guys survive."

"You still owe Pepper and I an explanation, I did not forget that part."

"Yeah yeah, we'll do that after getting your cheeseburgers and press conference. You do know that your stocks will fall a bit when you announce your plans right? Your board of directors will be pissed."

"Let them be pissed. I own fifty one percent of the corporation; they can't do anything about it."

"All I'm saying is to play nice with them a bit. This is why I will never go public with my companies, having a board will just cause a lot of headaches."

When they arrived at the Stark Industries building, the press conference was already set up. Obediah Stane, a friend of Tony's dad and a pseudo uncle for Tony, was waiting for them. As part of Harry's in this reality, he scanned the surface thoughts of individuals he met with. He was surprised at the emotions and thoughts he got from the man. Behind the veneer of the kind uncle, Obie, as he was introduced by Tony, he got greed and a disturbing thought that kept repeating over and over again in the man's mind,

'This should be my time, my time to wield power and not Stark's. He should have never been found!'

Stane was so focused in this line of thought that he was unknowingly blocking Harry's subtle telepathy. He resolved to warn Stark and Pepper later in private. Tony stuck to what they talked about in the car and even said that he was going to fulfill his active contracts with the government before Stark Enterprises moved on to other lines of business. At the press conference's end, the press got the message Tony was saying; Stark Enterprises was no longer in the business of creating large scale weapons of destruction like missiles and bombs. The Jericho missile was to be scrapped along with the plans on how they were made and the current prototypes, dismantled.

An hour after the conference, Pepper, Harry and Tony were in Tony's home having some dinner.

"Now that we have finished with our lunch, I think it's time that Harry gave us the explanation he promised us," said Tony.

"Okay, I am a wizard who can wield magic from a different reality with several mutant powers that emerged when I arrived in this reality." He then gave the two his, by now, standard demonstration using some of his gifts. "I feel like having some gelato, do you guys want some?" He stood up and held their hands before teleporting them to an alley next to a gelato shop near the Colosseum in Rome.

"So, now do you believe me?" Harry had a small smile while he took another spoonful of his gelato.

"I'm convinced so you used the filthy bed sheet we got from the house and used your magic to locate Tony?"

"Yes, I did, and I have to apologize for not doing so earlier. I believed that you were going to be rescued by the military quickly. I got distracted by my business and before I knew it, two weeks has gone by. I know it's a lame excuse but that's what happened. Sorry, guys."

"There's nothing to forgive, Harry. In some ways, I am glad things happened they did. I got my eyes opened regarding the damage being done by the illegally obtained weapons and I got to make my arc reactor."

"Same here. None of it was your fault. You did not abduct Tony or held him prisoner. I'm just glad he's alive."

"Now Harry we get to the important part, would you let me test some of your powers? I refuse to believe that science cannot explain your powers; after all any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."

"Quoting Arthur C. Clarke now?" Harry smiled at Tony's inquisitiveness.

"Fine I admit, I'm a fan. So, you can give me some time to test your magic, right?"

"I will have to think about it Tony. Before I even allow you to do so, there will be very strict rules you have to follow, if you do not, I'll be forced to erase it from your mind. In my long life, I try to refrain from doing so but make no mistake, I will obliviate you if I have to." Harry said seriously. "The information I have just told you about my story is protected by magic. You will not be able to share it with anyone else in any way, shape or form. You can only discuss it with me or people who already know it. Eavesdroppers who try to listen in will just hear buzzing."

"You're killing me man! I promise to try and not pester you about it but please consider it. Luckily, I have something that should hold my attention for now," Tony smirked meaningfully.

"You will build a better version of the thing you used to escape?" asked Harry.

"Yep, this will be fun, imagine having your own personal airplane and security system in such a small package. I'll be a super hero."

"Better you than me, Tony." commented Harry.

"Tony, what about the shrapnel still in your chest? You have to go to a hospital and get checked out!" Pepper reminded her boss.

"I can get them out, Tony. Tomorrow if you want." Harry volunteered.

"Let them be for a while. They're not going anywhere and I have plenty of things to do," said the stubborn genius. "I got checked out by the doctors in Ramstein Air Force base in Germany. They said I'm fine."

"Oh come on Tony. If you don't want an operation, at least have a check up and make sure you are not in any immediate danger," pleaded Pepper.

"I agree with Pepper, go see a doctor. I wouldn't force you to have the fragments removed but you have to get a check up," said Harry. He figured Tony will come around, he's just being stubborn.

"Okay, okay. I have a physical in the next few days; let me get a few days of rest first."

"Okay but I will schedule the physical, if I let you do it, you will wait for next year to do it," Pepper knew how Tony's mind worked so she will head him off the pass. Harry knew it too so he laughed at Tony who looked like a kid who got caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

"You know me too well, Pepper. Schedule it for next week, okay?"

Harry turned serious once more. "I have to tell you guys something that you will probably dismiss. I just want to say, here and now, that I tried to warn you. Your father's friend Obie is a bad guy. I routinely use my telepathy to get a 'read' the surface thoughts of people I get into contact with me. What I got from him was disturbing and here it is verbatim:

"This should be my time, my time to wield power and not Stark's. He should have never been found!"

"I've said my piece so do what you will with it," said Harry.

"Obie wouldn't betray me. He's been a friend of the Starks for a long time," Stark defended his father's friend.

"I think Obie is just a bit jealous of Tony. He got a taste of power when Tony was too young to take over the company but he had to give it up when Tony turned 21. Jealous, yes, but I don't think he means Tony any harm," said Pepper.

"Hey, I just said what I got from him earlier. Anyway, are you guys ready to go? I'm buying a few pints of the gelato to take home with me as presents to Natalie and Emma."

"I want some of the Strawberry and some of the Chocolate, Tony." Pepper batted her eyes at her boss.

"Okay but I'm getting some Vanilla and Caramel too."

Harry teleported them back to Tony's house and said his goodbyes to Tony and Pepper. Before he went back to sleep that night in his hotel room, he made a mental note to give them both a portkey ring like the ones he gave the Queen and the PM.

Shield HQ NYC

Fury was reading reports on Tony Stark's rescue and there were some inconsistencies. Tony was rescued by the military three hours after he got away from the cave. He did not receive treatment in Afghanistan but he got checked out in Germany and according to his doctors, Stark was fine. He does question the results from the tests in Germany. According to the report, there were traces of Potter's medicine in Stark's system when none was given to Stark at the base in Afghanistan. This means he ingested the drugs before he was rescued. While that was weird, the next inconsistency really takes the cake.

Shield has quite a few satellites trained on the hotspots of the world and they also piggy backed on the satellites of many countries. It should not come as a surprise that when unknown explosions were reported in Afghanistan, Shield found out about it. So when Fury found the inconsistency with the PHM meds in Tony's body, he got the satellite images within the time of the explosion sent to him. He could not believe what he saw so he had two of his satellite imagery experts to report to his office and interpret the images. The experts were both puzzled why the director wanted them to look at a picture of two men sitting on chairs under a beach umbrella; they were both dismissed without knowing the answer to their own question. Both men in the picture had dark hair and were clearly Caucasian. The question plaguing Fury's mind is who was the man with Stark in the desert? Did he give PHM meds to Stark while in the dessert and where did the man along with his furnitures go when the military came for Stark?

He lifted his phone and told his secretary to page Agent Coulson. He needs to know who the mystery man is.

PHI Manhattan

Harry brought Emma's gelato with him when he came to the office the day he came back to NYC. He had another business he wanted to get into and he wanted Emma's advice.

"Good morning, Emma. How are you today?"

"The day has been good so far. Now what's this I hear about you taking Tony and Pepper out for desert and why didn't I get to come with?"

"Oh, remember when I took you to Paris to get some croissants? It's sort of like that." Harry explained what happened yesterday and the revelations he did.

"Harry, not that I'm saying you were wrong to help Anthony but please next time be careful about your secrets. If you get outed before PHI is well established it may jeopardize our goals."

"I know and I'm sorry, okay? Here open your present," he gave Emma a spoon and her pints of perfectly preserved gelato. "Eat while I tell you of a new line of business I want to get into, well two businesses actually and a question on ethics in stocks. The first one is an idea the elves want to do and it is not that big of a deal but the second is a bit more complicated."

"Wow, fresh and authentic Italian gelato and talking about money, you really know the way to a girl's heart. Go on, I'll listen as I eat."

"I am already thinking of saying yes to the request of the elves but I want to run it by you since you're the expert here. They want to open a restaurant here in New York. As you know, the elves were originally cursed as a whole to be subservient to wizards. The elves that came with me are bound to my family though I gave them the freedom to do what they want but they are happiest when they serve people. Some came to me and very shyly requested that they be allowed to open a restaurant here so they can serve others. I can see no harm in the request so I am inclined to grant it. What do you think?"

"I am not entirely knowledgeable about the restaurant business but I do know that you will need a lot of permits to operate an establishment like that. What about their identity papers? Do they even have papers?"

"They have the necessary paperwork and they are all US citizens. I learned a lot from my days in the UN and I have covertly gotten all the elves their own set of legal birth certificates, driver's licenses, high school diplomas and social security. Don't ask how I did it as it is too complicated and tedious but they are fool proof."

"What about the permits and licenses for the restaurant?"

"The permits for the restaurant will be child's play if I use compulsion charms and a bit of telepathy. I know the 'it's a slippery slope' and the 'the road to hell is paved with good intentions' thing but I am willing to use my powers to open my businesses. It's not like I'm doing anything illegal, besides I am paying my taxes like a good US citizen should."

"I never said anything about using your powers, Harry; I know you would not abuse it. I say let them operate a restaurant if they want but I would suggest opening one in Washington DC, not in Manhattan."

"I do not have a problem with that but why there?"

"Restaurants are prime places for doing business and people also tend to think that whatever they are talking about at their table will not be overheard in a restaurant. They also ignore the waiters. You can ask the elves if they are willing to gather information for you because if the restaurant becomes as successful as your luxury store business, many powerful politicians will eat there just to be seen there."

"I never thought of that and that option will be a good source of inside information to further our cause. The only problem is the name, they wanted to use Harry's but I already used it for my luxury stores. Anyway, that can be solved easily enough."

"Okay, so that's problem one solved. What is problem two?"

"I have a lot of precious metals at my disposal and I have been selling some to augment the income of the Harry's stores while we wait for the government approval for our medicines. I use my powers to disguise myself and sell gold and platinum to different private mints, pawnshops and other cash for gold places I can find. The price I get is very low compared to price the mints get for the same amount of gold after they stamp it and give a certificate to prove their gold's quality and authenticity. Lately, I've been thinking why should I not get the licenses to mint and sell my own gold to the market. Do you think this is a doable venture?"

"Just how much do you have? Are you using the same source for the jewelries sold at Harry's?"

"Let's just say I wouldn't run out of precious gems and metals anytime soon and yes, the elves use the same source to create the works of art I sell at Harry's."

"The permits and trustworthy workers for the mint will not be a problem for you along with the security. The main problem I can see here will be manager. Do you hire one or will you use one of the elves to manage it? If you use an elf to manage it, the problem is how well they can perform at their job because it will mean a lot of paperwork. If you hire an expert to manage it, he will ask a lot of questions you are not prepared to answer. I can't see you using telepathy to avoid those questions from being asked."

"I can see your point; the manager can be a problem."

"What if we use the elves as employees and hire a manager to oversee the operations? It will work like this, we transact business like a normal mint, we can have some of the elves sell gold to the mint under disguises and fake IDs so the manager will not question where we get the gold we mint. The money the elves receive from the sale of the gold can be used to buy stuff in the Harry's stores. We get to keep the money and the stuff they get from the stores can just be repackaged and resold later."

"Harry, my dear, I love how devious your mind is sometimes and I am glad that you are a good person. What would have happened if you are working for world domination?" Emma wondered out loud.

"I do try and think things through before acting if I have the chance. Anyway, where should I set up the mint?"

"The financial districts of either NYC or London would be good. The Potter name is steadily gaining recognition so I'd suggest using it for the mint and for the restaurant."

"I think I'd set it up in the building next to Harry's here in New York. It will be expensive to rent the building but they should look great together and Harry's would give Potter's Private Mint legitimacy. What do you think?"

"I think we need to buy the building where 'Harry's' is located. We can get better security that way and we can move the executive offices of PHI there. There would also be additional space for any businesses you plan to start in the future."

"Buy the building? Won't that drain my bank account?"

"Buying the building should be easy. All we need to do is file for a loan which would be approved easily without even using using our abilities."

"Won't that cost me more money? What with the interest and all?"

"True you will be charged interest for the loan but taking a loan would not wipe out your cash reserves. The loan would be for about twenty tears on paper but when we get approval from the FDA, we would be selling the meds like hot cakes and don't forget that governments would buy them from us in bulk which means large chunks of money. We can pay off the loan long before the terms which would mean less money lost on interest."

"Okay, you sold me. I'll let you handle the negotiations on the loan and talking to the owner of the building."

"I can handle it, at least it gives me something to do; even I can be bored to death dealing with prospective buyers for PHM's meds. So what is this question about stocks?"

"Regardless of how well Tony's people does damage control, Stark Industries' stocks will take a huge hit and I plan to my share of their stocks. How much of a hit would it take?"

"Honestly, it will fall by more than seventy percent in value. It has already fallen by quite a bit since Anthony's abduction, about thirty percent. With his announcement yesterday, it has already dropped another twenty percent and I estimate it will fall further before the week is out. MSNBC and Bloomberg are really hammering them and there are reports of Anthony suffering from PTSD."

"Well, if you take the long view, this just should be a rather big bump in the road. The arc reactor technology that Tony is developing and the new armors he plans to sell to the military along with the new consumer electronics like laptops and phones should make SI profitable again."

"That will mean a lot of money, Harry. His twenty billion dollar company would be worth only six billion dollars if the stocks fall by seventy percent. One percent of six billion is still sixty million. Buying even five percent more would cost you roughly three hundred million dollars. Can you afford to spend that much more money? The building we plan to buy costs about $120 million, I might get the loan at six percent interest for a twenty year loan, which would mean about $530,000 a month in mortgage payments. How much is your liquid assets?"

"I used to have about $280 million in cash before I started the businesses. I already spent about fifty million on the jet because I paid in cash. About two million on the marketing and cheques for the guests' charities, and another two million total for the commercial spaces used by the store. I placed five million on PHI's corporate account the day I hired you and I estimate another million for the restaurant in DC along with maybe $300,000 worth of equipment for the mint. If we buy the building, the monthly costs for the corporation would be around $900,000 for the mortgage and salaries."

"Harry, I know this is your money and I know this is your corporation but in my opinion you cannot afford to buy more stocks in SI. I am already thinking of changing my mind on purchasing the building we just agreed to buy."

"No, we buy the building. It's a good investment and the area is not really affected by the recession. Do you think we can get a discount if we pay in cash?"

"I can get about $3 to 5 million less on the asking price if we pay in cash. Buying the building in cash would be more prudent than buying SI stocks."

"Okay I won't buy stocks anymore. Go ahead and buy the building. That would decrease the operating costs of the company. Good thing we already got paid $2.5 million for the Potter Silks."

"You really should have let me squeeze Tony on the silks."

"I know and I am sorry for not listening to you. When the time comes for us to negotiate with the governments, I promise, I'll give you free reign on it."

"Good because we need a lot of money if we plan to realize our goals."

By the end of the June 2008, Harry owned the twenty five story building on the corner of Manhattan's 5th Avenue and East 79th Street for an undisclosed amount and all the current tenants were given three months to vacate the premises.

"Hey, Emma, could you come to my office? I have something to show you." Harry said over the phone.

"Sure, Harry, give me a minute."

Emma entered Harry's office and saw him poring over some blue prints. "What is it Harry?"

"I wanted your opinions on these plans," he showed her the plans for the apartment.

"Wow apartments like these on a prime location would fetch a good price."

"Would you like one?" asked Harry.

"What do you mean? I already have a place here in New York."

"I will be converting the top five floors of the building into residences. The top two floors will be my new home while each of the other three floors will be divided into four large apartments. The apartments will have two bedrooms, two and a half baths, an office study, along with a kitchen dining room connected to the living room. One of the apartments has your name on it."

"I don't know what to say. Thanks, Harry."

"You're welcome and you do not have say anything, consider it a perk of the job. The tenants of the floors were persuaded to leave early, I gave them all a free month long stay in my guest houses in Napa so the elves will start construction in three days. Dobby is coordinating the construction an he says it will all be done in a week. I have my penthouse already listed and the realtor said it should fetch at least a million more than what I paid for it in the first place due to the improvements I had done."

"And how are the plans for the restaurant going?"

"Pretty well actually. The elves got a good deal on the lease, Winky arranged it, and she used my realtor to make the deal. The building is just a few blocks from the Capitol. Permits have been taken care of so they're just waiting for the credit card companies to install their equipment and for the repairs to be finished. They expect to open in three weeks."

"What kind of cuisine are they doing? You never told me."

"They will be doing an eat all you can buffet so it will be a mix of cuisines from different countries. Winky said they will offer five star quality food for fast food prices. All organic ingredients and so no chemicals and preservatives. Drinks like coffee, tea, juices, shakes and beer are free but you can also order spirits from the Potter vineyards, they will be priced like the spirits in the Harry's shops. I only disagreed with Winky's strict no soda rules but I got them to relax it a bit so that customers can bring their own soda if they want but they would not be serving sodas at the drink stations. The best thing is that they will be open all day, every day. The elves all want to work there so I doubt there will be a shortage of crew."

"What are you doing for promotion?"

"I already ordered the company I used to promote the galas to place ads on the papers, internet, radio and TV a week before they open."

"Will that be enough to get people's attention?"

"Trust me, it will grab their attention. They will open on a weekend and they will be dishing out free food and drinks the entire weekend."

Emma just laughed at the stunt the elves' ideas. "Yeah, they will get the people's attention all right. Your competitors will hate you though."

"They can hate all they want but they won't be able to deny the quality of the food the elves will be serving."

"How big is the place they leased?"

"Its a four story building. They can seat about 300 people at time. Parking will be their biggest problem so I told them no valet parking. There's no delivery or take out. If they want the food, they can come on over. No exemptions."

"It will be an unpopular decision but I can see the logic in that."

"Anyway, Nat is coming over for dinner later. Do you want to join us? Winky wanted to try out part of the buffet so we'll be her critics."

"I'd love to but my dear old dad had to see me for some reason."

"Okay, see you tomorrow."

While Harry was walking to Natalie's apartment, he went over the plans he had for the corporation's future like he did in the last two weeks or so.

When he first started out, he thought it was going to be easy, he had rapid expansion plans that he wanted to implement as soon as possible. Granted, he will not be paying much in the way of labor in the production of the goods but he was quickly finding out that even the considerable amount of liquid capital he had can vanish rather quickly. Emma had also drummed into his head that he needed to take at least a quarter the profits and put it in the bank for a rainy day. She also emphasized that he needed to become one of the financial leaders and not just a billionaire if he wanted to change the world. It looks like he has to scale down the expansion to fewer cities in the first five years, instead of two compounds a year, it will be one. He can live with that, figured slow and steady will be his motto instead of fast and loose. Before he knew it, he was already at Natalie's, knocking on the door.

"Hey, Nat. Ready to go?" He kissed her on the lips in greeting.

"Sure, let me get my coat and we'll be off."

They walked holding hands in silence for a bit but when they were alone in the elevator to Harry's apartment, Nat couldn't help but ask why he down in the dumps.

"Harry, what's wrong?" She forced him to face her.

"It's nothing Nat, let's just go have dinner. I'm sorry for being a git."

"Fine. We'll talk during dinner."

Winky served their food quickly before going back to the restaurant in DC. She got the feeling that the two needed to talk.

A few minutes into their dinner, Natalie couldn't stop herself anymore. "Harry, please talk to me. You've been gloomy since the week you told me that you were buying the building and its been more than two weeks. What's wrong?"

"Nothing, Nat. I'm fine. How's your day been?"

"My day was okay, Harry, thank you for asking, but you're not getting away that easily. Come on, you're usually so laid back and smiling and fun but lately you've been broody." She got out of her chair and sat on Harry's lap. "I don't like seeing you sad. Maybe talking will help."

"Okay I'll talk you know I can't resist your womanly wiles. It's actually a pretty good interrogation technique." She really is an expert, Harry thought to himself, not that I'm complaining. I know she is genuinely concerned but in the back of my mind, well, I really hate secrets.

"I'll keep that in mind. Now spill." Oh, Harry, you don't know how your words, hit me sometimes.

"I'm just frustrated at how little progress I've had in the past months. While I know that the luxury stores are a big hit and the sales are through the roof but my real pride and joy still hasn't even taken off yet. It would really help a lot of people and I'm really frustrated that I can't sell them to the general public yet."

"I know but you have to be patient. Great things comes to those who wait and all that. It may sound like a stupid platitude but it's just how it is."

"I know that, Nat, and I hate that I can't help but feel this way. This past month, Emma has been instructing me on how the business world works and it's funny, and not in a good way, that in order for me to be taken seriously and have real influence to affect people's lives, I have to act and behave like the pompous windbags that I hate."

"Emma has been tutoring you huh? You know, she is a very intelligent and beautiful woman, should I be jealous that you're spending too much time with her?" She asked half jokingly.

"It's not like that, Nat. She is very knowledgeable in how that world works and she is giving me an unvarnished look at the financial world. I'm glad I have her on my team."

"I was only kidding, Harry, though she does have beautiful soft looking lips and such a wonderful pair of legs that seem to go on and on."

"Nat, should I be jealous?" He asked with a smile.

"Well, Harry, I must confess that I do not think being male or female should matter in a relationship between two people." Nat said seriously while blushing furiously.

"Are you trying to tell me something, dear?" Harry was really interested now in the way the conversation is going, he's a guy, so sue him.

"I'm telling you that I'm bisexual, Harry and that I've had relationships before with both men and women, and both sexes have their pros and cons. I like to think of myself as a very open minded person."

"Oh, do tell me more." He couldn't keep the smile from forming on his face.

"Harry, you are such a guy. I bet you're imagining naughty things right now."

"Well now that you mentioned it." Harry's smile grew bigger.

"Fine. Feminists and monogamists will hate me for this but I think men and women are intensely sexual beings and that monogamy is not really practical nor is it in our genes. I can't see myself involved with more than one guy but maybe a guy and a girl is fine so long as they all like one another."

"Well, call me old fashioned but I can't see myself in a relationship with another guy. I'd be the first to promote same sex relationships but I'm just not into guys."

"Anyway, so much about that. We were talking about your moodiness these past weeks."

"Well, like I said earlier, Emma has been invaluable in teaching me the ropes about business. She has also made me aware that my rapid expansion plans for compounds was doable but not practical. I recognize the fact that money makes the world go around but she's telling me that if I aim to help more people, I have to be close to the top if not the top of the financial world. To do that, I have to be more profit driven than I was originally thinking."

"How did you want to do things before Emma came?"

"I originally planned to keep little if any of the profits from PHM, I planned to spend it all back in building my compounds. It turns out that I would help more people if I scale down a bit, get filthy rich first before doing it that way and the sad part is she's right. I'm burning through my liquid assets quicker than I make money, I'm still rich don't get me wrong, but I'm far from where I have to be."

"Well she does have a point; money does make the world go around."

"Yeah and I," the ringing of his mobile phone interrupted Harry. He could hear Pepper panicking on the other side and he's having trouble understanding her from her rambling and the explosions in the background.

"Whoa, slow down Pepper, what's happening?"

"It's Tony and Stane. We should have listened to you. Stane was the one who tried to have Tony killed. Tony is fighting him right now wearing his new metal armor that he's been working on. Apparently, Stane found the old armor Tony built in the desert and Stane built a bigger and stronger armor from the old one. You've got to help him Harry; I don't think Tony can defeat him.

"Oh hell. I'll be there in a minute, wait, where are you?"

"We're at the SI compound. I'm here with these guys from Shield but Stane took most of them out."

"Give me a minute and I'll be there."

Nat was confused about why Pepper was calling Harry for help when Harry was in New York and they were in LA.

Harry took a deep breath and faced Natalie. Here goes nothing, he thought to himself. I'm gonna rip Stane's arm out when I see him.

"Nat, I did not want you to find out this way but maybe it is for the best. I know you're Natasha Romanoff from Shield and that you were originally sent by Fury to spy on me. I just want you to know that I really care for you and that I am not lying when I say that I am not using you nor am I toying with you. Tony is in trouble so I'm going to help him out." He went to his room and got out his battle suit, a switching spell later, he was ready for battle. He got two Glocks from a drawer and handed them to Natasha along with their holsters. He also took out some dragon hide armor he had made for Natasha and magically placed on her.

"I am sorry to be abrupt but I need you to help Pepper while I help Tony. We'll discuss things later. Don't worry about me because I can handle myself. Oh, and those guns are enchanted, it will not run out of bullets."

Natasha just nodded silently and put her game face on. Lives were at risk so questions can wait.

"Ready to go? This will be a bit disconcerting a bit so hold on tight." He held her hand and teleported to Stark's offices. When they arrived, he gave her his phone and a kiss for luck. "Go find Pepper."

"Okay. We have a lot to talk about later but for now keep your head focused, Harry. Don't get killed because I plan kill you later." She gave him another kiss before running into the building with the phone on her ear.

Harry flew into the air and saw the two armored men fighting; one was a huge but plain clearly meant for battle while the other was slimmer and more sophisticated, the flamboyant colors clearly showed who was piloting it.

He formed another mental connection with Tony and said, 'Tony its Harry. You know the drill; don't tell him who I am, just in case we capture him alive. I will attack from the back invisibly at first.'

'Okay, Harry thanks for coming. The bastard took my upgraded reactor and used it to power his own armor. I'm using my old arc reactor so it's less powerful.'

Harry sent three blasting curses in quick succession at Stane's back which sent Stane falling to the street on top of a car.

"Who attacked me from behind like a coward?!" Stane shouted.

"I did you greedy old bastard. I was having dinner with my girl and things were getting interesting when you have to interrupt it by being an ass." Harry shimmered into being before sending a stunner at Stane, hoping to short out his armor and end the fight quickly. Too bad Stane's armor was modified to be hardened from EMP and electronic interference.

Harry transfigured two destroyed cars into silver back gorillas that kept Stane busy for a few seconds until they died from bullets shot at them by Stane.

"You think you can help Stark? I'll kill both of you then I'll get Pepper and your girl." He shouted at Harry before shooting a missile at him and picking up a car with a family in them. "Here Tony, catch this!" Stane threw the car at Tony.

Harry was able to use telekineses to erect a shield that absorbed the blast Harry mentally grabbed the car from Tony and set it to a safe location. He did this to the occupied cars in the area before flying back into the fight. He saw Tony get thrown into an empty bus so Harry flew in and sent a large fireball at Stane that he knew would not kill Stane. Tony has recovered by this time so he blasted Stane with a repulsor blast from his chest. 'Harry, I'm low on power. The blast took a lot out of me. Try and get the civilians out of here.'

Tony took off in a vertical climb with Stane giving chase so Harry got the nosy civilians to hide inside one of the buildings using his telepathy. After doing so, he followed the two armored men to the sky but he saw Stane fall to the ground quickly and Tony's armor was sputtering due to lack of power. Harry remembered Tony's epic face plant so he flew to Tony and grabbed hold to him while laughing and flying him to the ground.

'Tony, hold on. I don't want you face planting again, this time on concrete.'

'Oh man, you have to bring that up now?' Tony couldn't help but laugh as well, remembering the memory.

Unfortunately, Stane survived the fall and attacked Tony again, sending him flying to the rooftop of the arc reactor building.

"You think you can defeat me that easily? I am stronger than you!"

'He's mad, Tony, he won't stop until he's dead.'

'I know.'

"Stane, surrender now."

"Surrender? Now when I have you just where I want you?" Stane launched a pair of missles at Harry and tried to follow Tony on top o the building but Harry just avoided the missiles before grabbing some of the protruding metal parts of Stane's armor. Stane broke out of Harry's grip and was able to fly up to the roof top.

"Last chance Stane. Surrender or die." Harry was getting tired of playing and wanted to let loose a bit.

"I'll die before I go to prison," Stane tried to launch missiles at the Tony and Harry. "This should all be mine!"

'Tony, does his armor work like yours? Power in the middle of the chest?'

'Yeah, the bastard said it was my Ninth Symphony.'

They were on one side of the glass riof while Stane was on the other. Harry hovered over to the middle and taunted Stane.

'I'll lure him then I'll remove the reactor from his chest get ready to catch it.'

"So old man, you said you wanted to kill me? What's taking you so long? Too old and slow?" Harry really wanted to irritate the bald man.

Stane opened the top part of the armor; it seemed Harry damaged some of the internal systems.

"You punk!" Stane launched himself over to Harry who gripped one of Stane's shoulders while he punched the covering of the chest area to get at the reactor. He has it unscrewed but Stane's struggling form made it hard; the reactor was connected only by its wires.

Stane connected with an uppercut that temporarily dazed Harry. He was forced to let go of his hold on Stane's shoulder to protect his face and the bald man fell powerless as the arc reactor got wrenched from him. Once Harry regained his bearings, he threw the small reactor to Stark.

Stane's huge armor broke the glass ceiling and he fell into the big arc reactor powering Stark Industries which then overloaded. Harry summoned Stane to him while he used an energy shield to contain the back lash of electricity.

"Tony, shut off the big arc reactor! It's getting hard to contain it."

Tony jumped down to the central console and shut off the reactor though it took a few seconds before the electricity dissipated.

Harry and Tony were met by Pepper and Natasha along with Agent Coulson who, it turned out, was trapped inside the reactor's control room. They all went to Stane's unmoving form; Tony turned him over, only to see the lifeless body of Obediah Stane. There was a thin metal protruding from his forehead, probably a part of the reactor which hit him when he fell.

"Harry, we all saw what happened; Stane brought this all to himself. It's not your fault," Pepper consoled Harry. "We should have listened to you earlier then maybe this would not have happened."

"I know, Pepper. He was mad with his greed and delusions of grandeur." Harry turned to Tony who was crouched over Stane's body.

"I'm fine. He wanted to gain control over the company so bad I can't believe he actually tried to kill me and also said that he was the one responsible over my parent's death. My parents treated him like a brother yet he betrayed them."

"Director Fury will want to talk to all of you tomorrow. We have a lot to do to prevent leaks to the media."

"Where's the director right now?" Natasha asked Coulson.

"He is still in our New York HQ," answered Coulson.

"Call him and tell him to wait in his office, I'll pick him up," said Harry to Coulson before turning to Natasha. "I know I promised to talk but let's hold off until I can get Fury here that way I only have to explain once. Are you okay?"

"I'm okay. I was not in any particular danger though it was a bit dicey in the end." She kissed him on the lips and whispered, "Are you really okay? I know it's hard but Stane had it coming."

"I'm really fine, Nat. I'm not exactly a virgin when it comes to blood shed."

"Good. You know that Fury will grill you and Stark over what happened here along with the story on your powers and abilities."

"He can ask and I'll try to answer his questions but I'm not going to tell him everything. I'll take Coulson with me back to New York." He faced the agent, "Are you ready?"

"The director is in his office," replied Coulson.

Harry walked over to the agent and held on to his wrist. "Relax, Agent Coulson. This won't hurt a bit." He smiled at the others before teleporting to Shield.

They reappeared in Fury's outer office. Agent Coulson knocked twice before entering. "Director, Harry Potter is here to bring us to Stark's building."

"I do not know how you got here quickly but let's go." Harry just held on to their arms before teleporting them back to LA.

"Is there some place we can sit and talk?" Harry asked Pepper and Stark.

"Let's go to the conference room," answered Tony.

Harry conjured a large black piece of cloth then levitated it to drape over the body of Stane and his armor. They all walked over to the conference room after a quiet thank you from Stark.

After the door of the conference room closed behind Harry, he walked over to a seat opposite the three Shield agents. "I suppose you all have questions but please hold on to them until after I finish my story and the demonstration you will all ask for. We never finished our dinner so I'll have some food served before I begin."

He called over Winky and Dobby to have some sandwiches and drinks served. Dobby left some wine and scotch along with the food, he was sure they would need it.

"The information I will be telling you three is a secret protected by a magical spell which will not let any of you to share my story in any way, shape or form without my explicit permission but you can discuss it with anyone in that already knows it."

"I cannot agree to that, Mr. Potter. My organization will need documentation for its files," objected Fury.

"Whether Shield needs this for its files or not is not my problem. It will be your choice if you want to hear of it or not."

"I can have you thrown in jail for that Potter," growled Fury.

"Sure, you can try but you will not be able to hold me, many men and women has tried to arrest me due to trumped up charges like you are implying. In the few hundred years I have existed, none has yet succeeded and I come from a more advanced Earth. You can hear my story or not, it makes no difference to me." In the end, Fury stayed in his seat.

"I come from the year 2474 and I am now 496 years old..." Harry told his life story and gave the standard demonstration. "I suppose you have questions. I am willing to answer what I can."

"How long have you known that I am a Shield agent?" Natasha asked quickly.

"I saw you during your surveillance on the X-Men, so I already knew who you were when you met me in the gala in Manhattan."

"What does this mean for us?"

"Nothing has really changed. I am still Harry and you are still Nat. I have been as honest as I can with you and I am glad that you now know most of my secrets." Natasha nodded and looked like she was contemplating things.

"If you two are quite finished with your love life, I have questions," Fury glared at Harry and Natasha, which was impressive, considering he only has one eye. "What are your real plans?"

"Right now, aside from living a life, establishing my corporations, and helping the less fortunate; my long term plans are to bring about a peaceful and equal coexistence between the human races. I will not seek this goal using violence but I will not be idly stand by when lives, metahumans or not, are threatened."

"And are we supposed to just trust you to live up to your word of honor?"

"You should and you can ask our mutual friend, Dr. Stephen Strange about the magical oath I am about to make," said Harry before he made his oath.

"I, Harry James Potter, of my own free will do I give this solemn oath to Nicholas Fury, on my life and magic, that I will not use my abilities to willingly harm any living being without just cause or provocation. This I swear on my life and magic. So mote it be." A soft golden glow engulfed Harry and Fury for a few seconds before vanishing.

"What was that, Harry?" asked Natasha.

"It was a magical oath, Nat. I will die and lose my magic if I violate it," replied Harry. "I would have also lost both if I did not mean what I said."

"I will ask Stephen about it later. Mr. Stark and Mr. Potter, I have a proposition for you both. Shield has plans to create a team much like the X-Men that will defend Earth against threats that the world's military are simply ill equipped to defend against called the Avengers Initiative. I want you both on it."

"What do we get if we sign up for this?" asked Tony. He was willing to do it but he wanted to know what perks he can get from Fury just to irritate the man.

"Shield will do its best to protect you from the world's governments that will seek to use you or yours," replied Fury.

"I have already promised Dr. Strange my help against threats against Earth. This will not be new so I can agree to that. We will not be at Shield's beck and call to do its dirty work and we will only step in if the situation is really bad," said Harry.

"Hey, if Harry's okay with it, then you can count me in," said Tony.

"Oh and director? If you have further requests regarding meds from PHM, you will need to contact Emma Frost. She is the president and COO of Potter Holdings Inc. I turned over the day to day operations to her and she will be responsible for contracts negotiation."

"I feel sorry for you already, Fury. Good luck dealing with Emma Frost, she gives me the heebie jeebies." Tony shuddered.

"Very well. I will contact you both if the need ever arises." Fury looked at Natasha and said "You can stop the surveillance on Potter; you do not need to keep seeing him."

Harry waited for Natasha's response and he was glad he did. "Director, I will be continuing my involvement with Harry Potter for the foreseeable future on a more regular and personal basis. It will not interfere with my work with Shield," Natasha said seriously and a bit challenging as if she is daring him to say no.

Harry took a pen lying on the conference room table and whispered 'portus' before handing it to Fury. "Director, by saying the words 'I support the freedom of information act' anyone touching this pen will be transported to your outer office." Harry smirked at Fury who looked like he would rather spend hours on a plane than say those words. Everyone laughed at the Harry's joke, even Coulson gave a small smile.

"I'll be back in a bit. I'll try to minimize the damage done and work off some excess magic left from the fight." He said with a smile and teleported away.

Harry returned after almost ten minutes, grinning like a kid. "I repaired most destruction we caused earlier and you should have seen the wonder from people's faces when the rubble reformed from the destroyed pavement and building walls. It should minimize the charges you might receive in the coming days."

"Thanks for reminding me, Harry. Coulson came up with the stupid excuse that my armor was actually my bodyguard. I'm to hold a press conference tomorrow and say that lame excuse."

"Tony, after what people saw tonight, people will not really care about what statement you make. They would just assume correctly that it is a government cover up," replied Harry which received nods from the two women in the room. "If you and Pepper don't mind, I think Nat and I still have some talking to do."

After they said their goodbyes, Harry and Nat returned to Harry's apartment, Harry got an email from the Sorcerer Supreme.

'Harry, Nicholas gave me a call a few minutes ago asking about the oath you made. I gave him the ramifications of your oath and he seemed satisfied for now. I hope you have more patience in dealing with him, he's a paranoid man but he's a good guy like you. I hope you like the code name I gave you.'

"Great, now I have another epithet attached to my name," Harry said. Nat looked at him questioningly so Harry handed her his Blackberry.

"I just hope it's better than 'the boy who lived' or 'the man who conquered,' I hated those names."

"Well hopefully it will be better than those names."

"I hope so." Harry was cutting two portions from a chocolate cake Winky wanted them to sample.

"Harry, I want to talk about us."

"I'm glad that you don't hate me for concealing those facts, Nat."

"I can't say that I'm not hurt but considering that I haven't really been the picture of honesty, I'm willing to start over if you are."

"I am, Nat. I have trouble sleeping for a few nights because of it. I know you can't tell me everything but I would appreciate anything you want to share."

"My past is not something I am proud of and I am worried that you will not want to see me anymore. Harry, there is a darkness in me and my ledger is overflowing with red from the lives I have taken. It is why I joined Shield, I wanted to use the skills I have to a good cause, hoping it could redeem me."

"I too do not have a lily white past, Nat and I have done things I am not proud. The nightmares still visit me from time to time. I have tried my best to atone for them and it is one of the reasons why I want my company to succeed. I have grown to like Natalie Rushman but I think I will love Natasha Romanoff more. If you can accept me, then please do not doubt that I too can do the same."

Harry led her to the library which seemed to expand after Harry waved his hands. It grew more than thrice its usual size. He went to one of the shelves and took out a thick leather bound book.

"This is a very accurate book about the first 250 years of my life. A good friend of mine wrote it so what you read will be the truth."

'Harry Potter : the Reluctant Hero by Luna Lovegood'

"Luna Lovegood?"

"She is one of my best friends and she was a year behind me in school. Yes that is her real name and no, I do not know if she 'loves good' but from what her husband Neville said to me once, she is very creative." Harry said with a laugh, remembering how drunk they were that night so long ago.

"I'll read it later. For now, take me to bed, Hero."

=== insert lemon scene here ===

Harry woke up with a smile on his face and a naked Natasha asleep on his chest, their first time was a bit frenzied but what followed was a slow and tender. They fell asleep just as the first rays of the sun touched Manhattan.

A quick 'tempus' charm told him it was a few minutes past one PM. He levitated his lover carefully and he extricated himself from the messy bed.

He he switched on his bedroom TV while drinking his fresh orange juice from the food Winky has prepared for them and he smiled a bit at the headlines on CNN.

'Iron Man and Arcane defeat Killer Robot in LA'

'Tony Stark: I am Iron Man'

The story Shield concocted and leaked to the media said Obediah Stane was murdered by the robot the media named 'Ironmonger.' Iron Man, who was later revealed as Tony Stark, and a still unknown Arcane stopped the rampaging Ironmonger from killing many civilians. The origin of the Ironmonger is still being investigated.

"He certainly has a flair for the dramatics," said a now awake and laughing Natasha who was watching Tony declare 'I am Iron Man' in his press conference.

"I imagine Fury is having kittens over this development," said Harry who cast his modified breath freshening charm at both of them before greeting Natasha with a kiss.

"Minty," she commented after the kiss.

"Wizards had a spell that cleanses the breath but does not clean the teeth and mouth so I modified it to do both, and I call it my 'toothbrush' charm. The flavor dissipates within a minute or so."

"What are you doing today?"

"Nothing, apparently. I was going to oversee the delivery and installation of the equipment for the mint but Dobby left a note saying he'll take care of it. You?"

"I usually exercise when I wake up but I think we both got enough 'exercise' earlier," she smirked.

"I have a gift for you," Harry went to his closet and got a small gift wrapped box. He noticed Natasha's panicked look and connected the dots. "Calm down, it's not that kind of a present," Harry was laughing as he enlarged the box to its normal size.

Natasha threw a pillow at Harry before unwrapping the gift. "I was worried there for a second, you ass. Thanks for the gift." She gave a questioning look at Harry so he explained. "What is this made of?"

"They're made from basilisk hide and scales. A basilisk is a very rare magical creature that can kill with its stare and has the most potent venom in my world. Their hide and scales are extremely magic resistant and they can stop bullets and shrapnel easily. I also lined it with Potter Silk so it will be comfortable and even more durable. Since they are magically resistant, it took a lot of time and power to enchant them. They are temperature regulating and self cleaning, extremely durable and cushioned against impact. They are also fire and water proof. The hood and mask, if you wear them, will protect you from the disorientation of bright lights and loud explosions along with filtering airborne contaminants and protecting your identity of course. You need to put a drop of your blood on each of the components of the armor so that only you and I can remove it and I can only do so because I made it."

"You are such a thoughtful boyfriend; you know I'd appreciate this gift better than jewelry."

"There's a thin hidden blade on each sleeve about seven inches long. They're made from enchanted wood so it would not show on metal detectors but they're as sharp as razors. There is also a small unbreakable vial containing ten drops of phoenix tears hidden in a concealed pocket located on the waist. A single tear can heal most wounds and five drops will heal the deepest wounds. It can also act as a universal antidote to poisons. But here is my real gift and no it is still not an engagement ring."

He gave her a platinum ring covered in runes with a few rubies embedded in it. "This ring is also heavily enchanted. It will heat up if what you are about to eat or drink is poisoned and it will also erect a temporary shield that can withstand three direct hits from an RPG but I will have to charge it again after that. The ring will also act as an emergency portkey if you say the word 'portus' or it will send you to a secure facility if you are dying. Once again, if you put a drop of your blood on it, only you and I can remove it. It will also turn invisible with a mental command after you bond it to you."

"Invisibility? If you can do that to the ring, why didn't you use it on the armors? I am just curious."

"Call it one of magic's quirks; I actually tried that a long time ago. It only works on small items for some reason and I gave up on how to modify the runic array. And unless I placed a big gem on each piece of your armor, it would not sustain the active magic used for that effect."

"Oh well. I still love the gifts, Harry. Now since we do not have anything to do today, let's go back to bed, I want to show you my appreciation," with that Natasha dragged Harry back to bed.

Two hours later, after their shared bath to conserve water, he received a call from Emma.

"Good afternoon Emma! How are you this beautiful summer afternoon?"

"My, my, you sound chipper this afternoon. It looks like Mira was telling the truth; she said Master Harry and Mistress Natasha are busy when I asked her this morning."

"Yeah, sorry about that."

"Don't worry about it. Dobby handled the men who delivered and installed the equipment for the mint. I also got a call from Director Nicholas Fury of the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division otherwise known as Shield requesting samples of Potter Silk. I told him that we are in an exclusive contract with Stark Industries. He was a bit upset at that so I told him that if he can convince Anthony to allow it, we will be happy to sell him as much as he wants."

"You are a devious woman, Emma. I bet Tony will be overjoyed when Fury pesters him for that and Fury will be pissed at having to ask permission like a kid. You really love getting under people's skin, don't you?"

"A girl has to have her fun, Harry. What about the thing on the news?"

"I'll tell you that story tomorrow. I keep forgetting to give you a secure communications mirror. We'll talk about that tomorrow too. It is one of the products I might introduce."

"Okay. See you tomorrow then, and congratulations," Emma laughed before ending the call.

"Who was that?" asked Natasha.

"Emma called to update me on what happened today and to needle me a bit for finally, well, you know," replied Harry sheepishly.

"What?"

"I did not say anything but apparently Mira told Emma that Master Harry and Mistress Nat are busy when she asked Mira where I was."

"Harry, its fine. It's just sex, no need to be embarrassed about it."

"Just sex huh?" Harry pretended to be hurt.

"Oh, stop it, you know what I mean," Natasha slapped Harry's arm lightly.

Natasha read the book on Harry while they ate dinner. She was horrified at how Harry was treated by people and proud of how he overcame many obstacles to become the man he is today. The rest of the evening was spent telling each other their life story which was a very cathartic experience for them.

Natasha had to report to work the next day so she left after a prolonged goodbye and Harry was very excited to share the communications mirror idea to Emma. Natasha was very taken with the idea which had a very high impact in her line of work; after all, secure communications can make or break an organization, especially in times of war. The Allied forces being able to read the supposed to be secure Enigma ciphers during World War II is a case in point.

"Good morning, lover boy!"

"I'm going to be needled for that, am I?"

"Oh, lighten up, Harry, I'm just happy for you. What happened in LA the other day?"

"I warned Tony and Pepper that Obediah Stane was up to no good but they trusted the man. When they finally wised up, it was too late. Stane tried to kill Tony using a prototype armored suit based on the one Tony used to escape from his captors. Stane took Tony's new arc reactor to power his own armored suit. Luckily, Pepper did not throw away the old one as Tony instructed her. Long story short, I helped Tony defeat Stane and I had to finally reveal my story to Shield. I gave a magical oath to not harm living beings without provocation or just cause to get Fury off my arse and told Fury to ask Stephen Strange what the oath entails so I am now apparently code named 'Arcane' which was suggested to Fury by Dr. Strange since they cannot use my name for their files since the secret is magically protected."

"And you since finally came clean to Natasha and I assume she also came clean to you, you were able to move past that barrier to have sex for the first time?"

"Yes, Emma, you are right," said Harry with a sigh.

"Okay, moving on, what's this you mentioned about a mirror?"

"I gave the Queen and the PM a mirror keyed to mine for secure communications. Here's your own mirror," he gave her one of the mirrors he had made. "All you need to do is to say my name at the mirror while holding it to call me."

"Do you know the possibilities of this, Harry?" Emma was positively bursting with excitement as her mind explored the various application of this possible new product.

"I do, which is why I mentioned it to you. This has never been mass produced in my reality because wizards are lazy. They used fire to communicate; I'll explain it to you some time. The mirrors are usually made pairs that can only communicate with one another other but I was able to tweak it to respond to many mirrors by calling out the name I want to call. I can try and tweak it again to see if I can use the letters A to Z and the number 0 to 9 as unique phone numbers that the mirrors can use to connect."

"If you can get that to work, it will be a gold mine for the company."

"I know and I can rig it to dissolve into dust if anyone tries to tamper with it. It will need something to power it which would be good for us since it will provide us with a continuing source of income instead of just a one off purchase. I can use crystals like batteries to power it and they would need to bring it back to us for replacement crystals every few months."

"We can sell portable ones for about $300 and bigger ones for the house or the office at $500. Crystal recharge would be about $50. Does it have a limited range?"

"I never tested it but it worked perfectly when I was in Hong Kong to call a friend in London in my old reality."

"Good. No monthly fees or long distance charges and no electricity needed. Just a one time purchase for the unit and a small periodic fee to recharge a crystal."

"i just hope I can make it work," replied Harry.

"I have faith that you can figure it out, Harry."

"Thanks for the trust; I promise to do my best. However, there is also one more project I want to undertake and this will be done using the Elysium banner. It has the potential to uplift the lives of many."

"What is it? I feel nervous at what you plan to do next."

"It's nothing dangerous. I plan to have the elves make four water towers spread out per town in the areas without potable water and each tower will provide all the safe drinking water they will ever need using runes. The container and release valve itself will be will be formed as one without rivets or screws using magic and enchanted to be unbreakable so no one can open it. The ward stone which will power it from the earth's magic will be inside the container, therefore unreachable. What do you think?"

"I think it is be a great idea Harry. I would suggest an additional security measure though. Maybe you can put a qualifier on who can approach and open or close the valves."

"Hmm, we can do that. Only those who do not seek to misuse or abuse the privilege can operate the valves and they must do it of their own free will, no coercion will work."

"That would be a good safeguard. Have the lawyers under retainer issue a statement on how they can use the water towers and add a clause that if the towers are misused or tampered with in anyway not consistent with the goal of providing water to the public, the towers will be reclaimed."

"Do we really need that clause? It seems threatening to me."

"Harry those places are under the rule of dictators and despots. They only understand violence as a deterrent. I am sure you will have to take away some before they will learn to follow the rules."

"Okay, I see your point. I'll have the elves start on it and I will work on modifying the mirrors."

The weeks flew by for Harry and the elves. News reports started to come in about the water towers which appeared overnight in many of the poorest places on Earth. Each tower had a few leaflets that were spread out by the elves while the townspeople were asleep. They did this so everyone will know how the towers are to be used and so that the governments could no claim that they built the towers. Harry and Emma have no doubts that some officials would try and claim credit. Harry did have a few towers reclaimed to show the seriousness of their words. They quickly learned not to mess with the towers. Harry also help fuel rumors about the towers originally put forward by some 'experts' that the towers had advanced technology that takes moisture from the air and converts it water. The Harry, Emma and Nat along with the elves laughed at the propensity of human nature to grasp at straws in order to have something to believe in.

Third Week of July 2008

"How are you doing with the mirrors, luv?" asked Natasha.

"I'm making slow progress but I believe I'm on the right track. In the meantime, we can still use the ones we currently have. Tony is just frustrated that he might have competition for his mobile phones. It will definitely affect the sales of his phones but the phones still have the advantage of having other conveniences like mobile internet that the mirrors will not have."

"I see. Emma told me she has told me how she plan to market and sell the mirrors. She and the lawyers have been busy drafting end user contracts to safeguard the corporation especially about product tampering and experimentation."

"Yeah she promised me that they will be iron clad. I've already figured out how to detect tampering and how to disintegrate the mirrors into sand due to tampering."

"I laughed so hard when she said she plans to use the tagline, 'It works great, just like magic!' On your ads. She really has a great sense of humor."

"I know. I am working on the mirrors but now is the day we can move in to the newly finished residences. I'm giving Emma one of the apartments to use for free and I want to ask you to move into one too."

"I know you only mean well Harry, but we've only know each other for a few months. I do not think it's the right time to move in together."

"As much as I want that, I agree that it's too early for that step but I still want you to live in one of the apartments so that I know you are safe. The wards will keep us all safe from almost any harm."

"Oh alright. I see your point. A lot of people may think that I am a tough girl and they are correct, I am a very strong person but sometimes it feels nice to be cared for, you know?"

"I know. I had the same problem when I was young. The people who took it upon themselves to plan out my live did mot take into account what I wanted. They thought they were protecting me."

"I know and this is why I do not complain much. You are not trying to control me, you just point out your opinions but you let me make my decisions in the end."

Emma and Natasha moved into two of the 23rd floor's apartments while Harry moved into the penthouse. The penthouse had two floors. The first floor, used for visitors, held the rooms any guests can enter like the library, a ballroom, a formal dining room with attached kitchen along with two sitting rooms, an entertainment room and four toilets. Emma and Natasha with the help of Dobby and Winky decorated the place to showcase the understated wealth of the owner. They did give in to Emma's demands of gold fixtures, all embedded with precious stones, like faucets and door knobs. They were the only things you can call overly ostentatious, the rest were very tasteful. Emma's only answer was that they need to shock and awe the guests first, they can charm them later.

However, to open the doorway to the second floor, you must be told the secret of the Fidelius protected door and be keyed in to the blood wards. The second floor was greatly expanded with ten guest suites and it contained magical rooms like a potions and alchemy room, a room for enchanting, a dueling room, a ritual room and an infirmary but the finest addition was a Room of Requirement where the thirty elven rune masters spent almost a week engraving and the triple checking every little thing.

Harry had to give out a liter of his blood for each of the seven fist sized diamonds that needed to soak for seven days. The diamonds would then be embedded into the middle of the RoR's floor in a circular formation before Harry charges them. When he did charge them, Harry was unconscious for three days, Nat and Emma were extremely worried so when Harry woke up, they both took an ear before they shouted at him for worrying them so much.

It turned out that he overcharged the diamonds that they were all glowing brightly and that excess power was luckily shunted off into the main ward stone in the basement. Even with that precaution, the diamonds were creaking as if they were going to crack. The elves were awed at the power Harry unleashed that night.

Harry just grinned like a loon an told them that he overcharged it because, according to the founders, the initial charge of the diamonds was directly proportional to how good the room would work out. Harry showed them how to use the room and they momentarily forgot how mad they were at Harry. They were currently on a beach like the ones in Tahiti. The sun light felt real as did the sand and the waves which was even salty.

"See? I overcharged the diamonds so that the room would be able to replicate what we ask for as much as possible."

"How do we use the room? Do we just ask for something?"

"The one who created the room is the only one who can request things. What did you want?"

"Bathing suits!" The two women replied in chorus. Harry just laughed and pointed a few feet behind them. There was a changing room filled with many things needed for a beach trip. Towels and swim suits for men and women even a few toys and life savers.

A few minutes later Harry's jaws dropped when he saw the blonde and the redhead bombshells in the skimpiest bikini he could imagine.

"Aren't you going to join us, Harry?" Natasha smirked at the obviously excited Harry who ran to the cabana and just switched his clothes with a pair of trunks.

They all had a few hours of fun in the sun right at the heart of the Upper Eastside. 

First Saturday of August 2008

Harry and the two women were sharing breakfast when Harry got a call on his mobile.

"Good morning, Jean. What's going on?"

"I'm embarrassed to ask but you mentioned in one of your emails that you had extra rooms in your new building and that I'm welcome to stay there, right? Well, I'd like to take you up on your offer."

"Of course, you can stay here. When do you plan to come here?"

"Will now be too soon? I'm in my car in front of your new building."

"Well, that was quick," Harry laughed a bit. "Give me a minute and have Dobby assist you. He'll arranged to have your car parked in either the third or fourth floor parking lot. Do you have your things with you?"

"I did not bring much aside from a few changes of clothes with me nor did I bring anything paid for by Xavier. I plan on asking Emma and Natasha if one of them can help me shop for clothes and furniture."

"Don't worry about those things. We can easily arrange to have it taken care of. We'll meet you and Dobby on the first floor of my house. See you in a bit, Jean."

"Thanks, Harry."

Harry went back from the window and told the two ladies what the call was about. "That was Jean on the phone. Apparently, she needs a place to stay and she is going to take me up on her offer to live here. Dobby is on his way down to help her park and carry a few of her things."

"I wonder what happened," commented Natasha.

"I'm sure Xavier or Summers got on her nerves again though this seems serious as she actually moved out of the mansion," answered Harry.

"Whatever happened, she will be telling us later," added Emma.

"I'm coming down to the public rooms to meet her, I need to key her in to the wards and give her the secret about this floor. Do you want to come?"

"We'll go, we haven't started breakfast anyway that way she can tell us her story while we eat," said Natasha. "I like Jean though I've only met her twice."

"So do I. She's feisty so she'll fit right in with Nat and me," agreed Emma with a smirk at Harry.

Harry groaned at that statement of Emma. "I'm going to be triple teamed, aren't I?"

The two ladies just laughed and led the way to the stairs to the public rooms.

Jean and Dobby arrived a few seconds after the three residents of the Potter Tower arrived in the foyer.

"Jean, how are you?" asked Emma.

"I'm fine, all things considered and I am happy to have a roof over my head. I thought I might have to stay in a hotel while I searched for an apartment."

"You do not have to worry about that. Harry has a soft spot for beautiful strong willed women," said Natasha.

"Okay let's get upstairs. Jean, the door to my private rooms is located inside the library," Jean suddenly saw a door appear beside the library's fireplace; "The door is protected by the same magic protecting my story and powers. I have added you to the buildings and the residences' wards earlier. Had you been an enemy, you would be naked and without a stitch of clothing on in the middle of Times Square, and that is only a warning."

Jean shuddered at the mental picture she got. "Good thing I'm not an infiltrator then."

Dobby added another place on the breakfast table for Jean before withdrawing. She was glad she hadn't eaten yet as the food looked amazing.

Emma noticed the expression on Jean's face so she commented, "The elves insist on feeding us like royalty so eat up, they might get offended if we don't at least have a plate every morning. I've taken to joining these two in their morning exercise routine and Natasha is giving me lessons on some hand to hand combat. Harry joins us sometimes but it's mainly to ogle us in our sweaty exercise clothing," Emma timed her delivery of the last line just as Harry was drinking his orange juice. The three girls laughed when Harry choked a bit on the juice.

"I am not ogling anyone! I just have a very healthy and justified admiration for the female form. Can anyone blame me for looking at two very attractive women?" Protested Harry weakly.

"Oh hush, Harry, you know I like you looking at my body. I work hard for it so I think I deserve the admiring looks you give me," Emma said while batting her eyelashes at her boss.

"Nat! Aren't you going to defend me?"

"Harry, you are a physically and magically powerful man and an extremely strong mutant. I hardly think you need defending from Emma, besides, she's right. She is very sexy and it would be a lie to say otherwise."

"But aren't girlfriends supposed to be jealous of other women?" Harry was confused.

"If I did not find her attractive and I was not confident of your love, I might be. Be glad that is not the case, because I can be a real bitch when I am crossed," Natasha smiled sweetly. She noticed Jean did not know how to react to the by play going on. "Emma, let's keep the flirting and teasing Harry down a notch, we might scare Jean."

"Okay, I'd get used to it if I were you. It's all in good fun and Harry is just so easy," Emma said before taking a bite of her eggs Benedict.

"Well this is certainly less depressing than Scott's puppy routine," replied Jean. "He follows me around the mansion that I got so sick of it and Xavier's holier than thou attitude. He still hasn't apologized for anything he did. Maybe needling Harry will be good for me and I'd like to learn unarmed combat too."

"Good, you can join us tomorrow. But do tell on why you left the mansion," said Emma.

"Scott has been pestering me more frequently to give him another chance. I tried to make a relationship work with him years before but I just cannot see us together again. It makes me wonder why I even went out with him. He's good looking and has a good body but his outlook in life is so different than mine. Xavier has also been on my case ever since Harry and I freed the Phoenix force. He is always observing me and questioning my choices during our training sessions. I can accept criticism well, and Logan can attest to that. He gives me tips on what I can do better and I try to incorporate it in training. However, Xavier is so condescending in his after training critiques. I don't know, maybe it's just me but I've noticed that he sometimes probes my mental defenses. I have been practicing like Harry told me and I think I've made some progress. By the way, I have the books with me, Harry."

"Mental defenses? What's that?" Natasha asked. She was very interested in this new information.

"Is that why I can't read you, Jean? I tried it just now so I can see what you were talking about and I think only a brute force attack is the only way I can read you," Emma was similarly interested.

"I gave a few pointers to help Jean control her powers better when the Phoenix was still trying to escape. I let her borrow a few books, one on meditation and a book on the mind arts practiced by the magicals in my reality. I can offer the same to you two if you want but it is a very personal experience so I want you to be sure. Learning the mind arts will also help you with your emotional control and memory retention. This was made for witches and wizards but it has been proven to provide at least a moderate shield that can resist passive mental intrusions."

"I think that would be a great asset in my line of work so I'll try it," said Natasha.

"If I can learn to erect a shield like Jean's, I will be willing to spend time learning it. We still have a lot of free time right now so I think it would be best if I learn as soon as possible," said Emma.

"I'll give you copies of the books Jean used this afternoon. Since it is a Saturday, why don't you two help Jean and the elves with furnishing her apartment and shopping for clothes. I'd also like to hire you as a consultant. Emma mentioned she needed someone to act as liaison with the FDA and other the other governments' health departments."

"That's right, you mentioned you liked medical research and you do have an MD from Johns Hopkins so don't think of it as a hand out. You'd be doing Harry and I a favor, no offense meant to present company, but those clinicians are so boring. You will be responsible for getting two more doctors or a related field to liaise with the governments doing tests on the medicines we are waiting their approval on."

"Wow. I get a job and a place to live, in just a few hours. Thanks so much," said Jean.

"Enough of this mushy stuff. Go on and get your clothes and furniture shopping done in the store and pick which apartment you want in the girls' floor. Dobby will introduce you to the elves who run those departments."

Jean looked like she was going to protest so Emma took her hand and dragged her to the stairs while being followed by Natasha. "Don't worry about it. The elves will be happy to have things to do and the clothes are to die for."

He just laughed at Emma's antics. He reviewed the past few weeks and he is happy with the way things are going ever since he accepted what Emma told him about the reality of the business world.

His luxury stores continue to have good sales and the private mint he recently opened was attracting some good buzz from the players in the precious metals business.

Winky's restaurant, called Buffet 101, opened a week to the delight of foodies in Washington DC. Harry and Emma attended the opening and they were bowled over by the long line of people waiting for free food. The top floor of the was not going to be open to the public like they originally planned, instead, Harry added a ten room residence. The rooms resembled a nice hotel room. It had a queen sized bed, a bathroom, a sitting room with an entertainment system, and internet access. Being so close to Capitol Hill made it an ideal place to stay in for his employees.

The news he got last night from the PM was just the cherry on the cake. The pastes and creams were about to be approved for public use this coming week so Emma and Harry were going to be spending the next few weeks there starting on Monday. Unfortunately, Natasha had to go on a mission for Shield and she will not be able to join them.

Harry has already worked out a preliminary price list for the products for Emma to review and comment on.

Multiple Use (10 or more) Pastes & Creams

-Pimple Remover Cream $250  
>-Blemish Remover Cream $250<br>-Bruise Removal Paste $ 250  
>-Burn Cream $50<br>-Abrasions and Minor Cuts $50  
>-Deep Wound Treatment Paste $50<p>

All potions are packaged in a single dose bottle

-Lung Renewal Potion $200  
>-Nerve treatment   
>Anti-paralysis Potion $200<br>-Bone Regeneration Potion $200  
>-Skin Regeneration Potion $200<br>-Muscle Regeneration Potion $200  
>-Blood Replenishing Potion $100<p>

Potions listed above may require a regimen of more than one dose, depending on the severity of the case.

-Hangover Potion $25  
>-Nutrition Potion $25<br>-Cold Cure Potion $25  
>-Cough Cure Potion $25<br>-No Drowse Pain Relief Potion $25  
>-Calming Potion $25<br>-Sleeping Potion $25  
>-Flushing Potion $25<p>

He was extremely grateful to Emma's foresight because she's already recruited thirty doctors, trained by elven healers, to conduct product demonstration and seminars in hospitals and clinics. Another batch of thirty doctors were currently in training to augment the first group because their market research predicted very high demands once the meds were given government approval.

She has also lined up a few models for the media blitz they plan to do as soon as approval for the pastes and creams is announced. Emma had given him the task of picking the 'face' of PHI, not just PHM. He remembered their conversation from last night.

'Emma, i just received great news from across the pond! The creams and pastes have been given approval by the UK government and they want us there on Monday for the public announcement.'

'That is wonderful news, Harry! It would also dovetail nicely with the plans we have.'

'Plans? What plans?'

'I'm sorry. I was going talk to you about it later but I suppose this is as good a time as any. Part of the preparations I had for the expected launch of new PHI products is to find a good face for our company. I had originally planned to screen models with telepathy to see it they fit our needs. We cannot afford a scandal that would involve our main product endorser, and trust me, if she has hidden bones in the closet, our rivals would make sure that they will be exposed with maximum negative impact. Remember, PHM is our flagship project, we have to be picky, so we cannot just have the marketing people pick one out, we will have limited time in the future to devote to putting out public relations fires. You can scan the models for us while I meet with the PM's representatives, looking at beautiful women is not really a hard task.'

'I can do that, it just feels wrong to go mucking about in someone's thoughts, you know?'

'You would only be scanning the surface thoughts, Harry, not their entire lives. I have ginned up a list of questions to help you for the interviews, it should be enough to bring up the information we need. You are not exactly going to shout their secrets from the tallest buildings anyway.'

'I know, I'm sorry. I know I sometimes have these conscience attacks but I'm glad I still have them. Anyway, I'll do it but you'll have to tell Nat that this was your idea.'

'Okay,' Emma replied simply with an enigmatic smile.

He was taken out of his reverie with the voices of Natasha, Emma and Jean. He decided to greet them and see how things went.

"Hello ladies, how did your day go?"

"Emma and Nat took me all over your store and got me a lot of clothes. We went over to their floor and they took me to one of your apartments. I hope you don't mind, I took the one overlooking Central Park," replied Jean.

"Natasha didn't take that one because she rarely stays in her apartment, I don't know why she didn't just move in with Harry," Emma mock whispered to Jean.

"It is too early to move in, Emma, and the reason I rarely spend time in my apartment is that I want to spend the time I have in NYC with Harry, I'm just lucky things have been slow at work the last couple of months. Long periods of relative quiet almost never happens and it's disconcerting in a way," replied Natasha.

"Why is that?" asked Jean.

"Well, a long period of peace is usually followed by a crisis, at least in my experience," answered Natasha.

"It has not been too quiet, Nat. We did have an episode with Tony Stark," reminded Harry.

"I know but I still have this feeling, Harry."

"Whatever it is, we'll deal with it together. It's no use trying to borrow trouble," said Harry.

"If there's trouble brewing, you know I'm here to help," said jean sincerely.

"I know I'm not at proficient at combat like the three of you but I'm no slouch either. I'm getting pretty good at Kravmaga, right Nat?" Emma joined in.

"Thanks for your offer, Emma, Jean but I do not want you to be involved as much as possible. I know you two can handle yourselves but I'd rather the eyes of the world not be on you guys," said Harry.

"He is not rejecting your help girls, he's just being his normal noble self and we like him that way, don't we?" Natasha said.

"I do not know about Jean but I certainly like Harry," Emma grinned meaningfully.

"Emma, remember what we talked about. He is not yet ready," said Natasha.

"What am I not ready for?" Harry asked, confused at the sudden turn of events.

"See?" Natasha pointed out to Emma. "It's nothing Harry. I'll tell you about it tomorrow before you leave for England," Natasha said to his lover.

"Okay. Jean, I'll leave you to these two lovely ladies. I'll go back to the library and work on the mirror," Harry said, giving Natasha a kiss on the cheek before walking away. "Remember, we promised Winky we'll have dinner at the restaurant later."

"Okay, what was that all about?" Jean asked the two women while they walked to the elevator in the public part of Harry's penthouse.

"We'll tell you later maybe you might be interested. I know I am," said Emma.

"Emma!" exclaimed Natasha.

"Nat, we both know Jean likes Harry and I think Harry has a soft spot for her too, besides, Jean is hot!"

"Hey! I'm right here! And Emma, Harry is a great guy but I know he's with Natasha. You don't have to worry about anything, I promise," said Jean seriously. They were now in Jean's apartment. "Wow, the elves did a great job! I only told Tully that I wanted something simple and understated when she asked me how I wanted the room to look like," Jean tried to change the subject.

"Jean, I know that Harry will never be unfaithful to me, he's a nice guy and I also know you are not that kind of girl. Don't worry about it," Natasha reassured Jean.

"Good, I do not have that many female friends and I don't want to lose any of you," replied Jean, relieved.

"Harry is a special man, I can see why you and Emma like him and I don't have a problem with that. I am secure in the fact that Harry loves me. I just want him to be happy so if having more girlfriends will make him happy, it's okay with me," said Natasha.

"You're okay with that?" Jean was unsure where this conversation was going.

"Nat and I are both bisexual, we like each other but she loves Harry. I think I do too. We are not doing anything behind his back so relax," said Emma.

"Harry came from a culture where he could have more than one wife because he is the last remaining heir of a few ancient and noble wizarding families. I read about it from a book in his library and we confirmed it with Dobby and Winky," explained Natasha. "I consider myself a physically fit person and my body has been altered to be near the peak of human performance but I don't think I can wear Harry out in bed. He is not complaining and I think he's happy and satisfied though that is not my only reason. I have a problem, Jean, the experiments done to me in Russia has rendered me sterile so I cannot give Harry any children. He is okay with it but I think he should get to experience fatherhood, he is such a loving and kind man that i have no doubts that he will be a great father," confided Natasha.

"I approached Natasha a few weeks ago to let her know that i liked Harry but I do not want her to be jealous or suspicious. I knew it has begun to show though I mostly try to pass it off as harmless flirting so I thought that it will be better to get it out in the open instead of her finding out about it later. To my surprise, she showed me the books about Harry's world, what she found out from elves and her problem. I think I agree with her that this way, we all get what we want. A chance at happiness with a great guy who deserves it," said Emma.

"Are you offering to let me join you two?" asked a gobsmacked Jean.

"No, we just want you to be aware of the situation but if you ever think that you are falling in love with Harry, we want you to know that we're okay with it," answered Natasha. "So, who wants a glass of wine? I know I do."

Emma and Jean both raised a hand; they knew they had a very long conversation ahead of them.

Unaware of the important conversation the three women were having about him, Harry went on with his research on how to make the mirror comms work for the masses.

He was getting nowhere so he got dressed and teleported over to his office in Harry's London. He keeps forgetting to place portals connecting the four luxury stores to each other, since neither he nor elves have a problem teleporting or in the elves' case, popping from store to store. Now, he needed to do so because Emma needed an easy way to and from their building in NYC to the other cities without his aid, his personal office in each of the Harry's stores would act as their airport for now.

Harry has already created a reusable portkey keychain for himself, Natasha and Emma that would take them to a warded area beside the hangar in Teterborough, Harry's penthouse in Manhattan and the locked section in the back of the jet. Harry instructed the pilots that he wants them to call him on his mobile instead of using the plane's system to announce when they are about to land, the pilots were used to the eccentricities of their employer so they did not suspect anything.

Evening the next day

Harry and Natasha were alone on the roof deck of Potter Building; Natasha was snuggled into Harry's arms when he said, "What's on your mind? You've been quiet ever since we finished dinner earlier."

"I read a few books about your old world some time ago," she replied.

"Okay. What did you learn from those books?"

"I learned a few things about ancient and noble families like the Potters and the Blacks."

"I see. Pureblood families put a lot of stock on genealogy and stuff like that."

"Yes and I read how the heads of the families had more than one wife if they are the heads of more than one family. How many families are you currently head of?"

"I am the head of the Potter, Black, and Gryffindor families," replied Harry.

"So technically you can have at least three wives and three consorts."

"That is technically true, Nat, but I never really believed in all that rot. Are you worried about me and more women?"

"No, love, I am not worried about that but I want you to be happy and I know you've always wanted a family of your own. I think you should consider getting more women," Natasha looked seriously into Harry's eyes as she said this.

"Nat, I do not need more women. I have you. If you are worried about children, I've told you when you first mentioned what those scientists in the Red Room did to you can be undone. There are a lot of magical treatments that can help you just as there are a lot of things modern medicine can do for you. If all that fails, we can adopt."

"I know that Harry and I promise that if we ever reach that point when we want children, we can try all those options. I have no doubt in my mind that you are serious when you said those things do not matter to you but they matter to me, it matters that you have children that are of your own flesh and blood. You will be a great father, Harry."

And that's when it all clicked in Harry's mind. "This is what you and Emma have been talking about. You want me to be her boyfriend too? I don't know whether to be happy that you care so much about me that you are okay with sharing me with other women or that I should be saddened that you are talking to another woman and offering me to her." He got up and walked to railing of the roof deck and stared over the park.

"I did not offer you to her, Harry. She came to me about her feelings about you, to reassure me that while she may flirt with you, she will not do anything that will jeopardize our relationship. I admit that I shared what I learned from the books and from the elves about your previous reality. She and I like each other but we both love you. I think Jean is also similarly attracted to you."

"Jean is in on this too?"

"We talked about it yesterday while we were arranging her apartment."

"I don't know what to say," said Harry as he embraced Natasha.

"You don't have to say anything, Harry. Please don't hate us for talking about the possibilities, we only want you to be happy. You have so much love in you, Harry, and we think there is enough of your love for us," tears fell from her eyes that moved Harry.

"Nat, I'm not mad at the three of you, I was just a bit surprised. I love you, Nat, and I promise to talk to them. Now moving on to important stuff, you like Emma? Should I be worried that I might walk in on you two kissing but come to think of it, that is not such a bad idea," Harry joked to cheer her up.

Natasha smiled and wiped her tears away. "Yes we like each other that way, we are both bi, love. But I love you and I think she is beginning to love you too. I cannot say I blame her. My boyfriend is what every woman wants in a man."

"I know, it is so hard to be perfect like me," he replied in a snooty and lofty tone. She slapped his chest lightly.

"Watch it, buddy," Natasha mocked glared him. "Seriously, Harry, promise me you'll think about it?"

"I promise. I'll think about it a lot. Especially when I'm alone, in my bed," Harry smirked and wiggled his eyebrows at her suggestively. She just laughed and sighed internally, glad that the conversation did not become something bad.

Monday August 4, 2008  
>10 Downing Street, London<p>

"Good morning, Harry, Miss Frost," greeted Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

"Good morning, Prime Minister," Emma greeted the leader back.

"Good morning, Sir," said Harry.

"I am pleased to tell you both that Her Majesty's government has given their approval for PHM's pastes and creams," said the PM. "However that is not all. As you know, while the Queen and I did wish to have your products approved as soon as possible, we cannot appear to be influencing the health experts in any way to expedite their approval. We did however ask that they be given a fast track so that the public can benefit as soon as possible. Our efforts has since borne fruit with the pastes but two of your liquid potions has also been approved as they are, in the opinion of the medical experts consulted, most useful. They have approved the sale of the bone regeneration potion and the blood replenishing potion and both have been deemed safe for public consumption." The PM could see the surprise on both their faces. "Her Majesty wishes for me to tell you, Harry, that this is payback for surprising her in the London gala a few months back."

"I see. Please tell Her Majesty that this is a very welcome surprise," Harry said with a smile. "I should have known that the Queen would get me back for the stunt with the jewels. Her counterpart in my old reality had a similar sense of humor."

"I am very glad that we already have a few doctors already trained to give demonstrations on how to use these products," said a thoughtful Emma, already pondering the possibilities this surprise has opened up.

"Congratulations, Harry. This is but the start of your climb to the top," Gordon shook Harry's hands.

"Oh, I hope so, Gordon. I hope so," said Harry. "I am also working on bringing the communications mirror to masses. I still have a few hurdles to overcome but I think the goal is within reach."

"When that happens, PHI will really be taking the business world by storm. Cheap and secure communications for everyone. No long distance charges and recurring fees aside from the recharging the crystals powering the device every two months or so," said Emma with a smile on her face.

"You plan on mass producing the mirror that you gave me? It would undoubtedly give the mobile phone manufacturers and service providers stiff competition. The military and government contracts alone would bring you hundreds of millions. Will it work the same way as the one I currently have? Just call out a name and you will be connected?"

"It would not be possible, I'm afraid. It is actually one of the hurdles I mentioned. There are too many John Smiths and other similar names for different individuals. I am thinking of using a twelve digit combination of letters and numbers, it should be enough for the world's population."

"I see, I do hope you figure it out soon. Anyway, the announcement tomorrow should give the media something to talk about and maybe build up your company brand so that when your main medicines are approved, it will be accepted by the public quickly," said the PM.

The meeting broke up soon after that, everyone had a job to do.


End file.
